BTS have withdrawn their music from next year’s Grammy Awards. The seven-member K-pop group—RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, V, Jungkook, Jimin—all shared the same statement on their personal Instagrams on Wednesday, noting that they “have decided not to submit for Grammy consideration this year.”
“We hope our music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language. We thank Army and everyone who has always stood by us,” they added.
The announcement comes a month after the Recording Academy announced the first Best Asian Pop Music Performance category, part of a slate of five new awards taking effect during the 69th Grammys on February 7, 2027.
“This category recognizes artistic excellence in Asian pop music performances originating from or widely recognized within Asian markets, including but not limited to K-pop, J-pop and C-pop, with meaningful use of one or more Asian languages. Awards are presented to the performing artist(s),” the new category reads.
In a statement shared on July 29, Grammys CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said he was “saddened to hear” BTS would not submit their music to the awards. “The Asian Pop category was created to celebrate the depth, diversity and extraordinary growth of pop artistry coming out of Asia,” he wrote. “The spirit of this new category is to shine a dedicated spotlight on these important artists. More categories mean more artists’ work is recognized.
“I also want to be very clear: submitting music in a genre category such as Asian Pop, or Jazz or Country does not exclude an artist from also submitting and being considered in the General Field categories, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year,” he added. “Those categories remain open to any eligible recording, regardless of genre.”
BTS have been nominated for four Grammys since they became the first K-pop band to receive a nod at the ceremony in 2019. They have never won.
The band is not the first to withdraw their work from the Grammys in recent years. After not receiving any nominations in 2021, the Weekend boycotted the Grammys (he eventually changed his mind). Drake did the same the following year.
