BTS to boycott 2027 Grammys over new Asian pop category
The K-pop group BTS will not submit their music for consideration at next year’s Grammy Awards.
Their announcement Thursday comes one month after the Recording Academy unveiled a new category for Asian pop that is set to debut at next year’s ceremony.
In a statement, the group’s seven members said, “We hope our music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language.”
Critics of the new category say it echoes a long pattern at the Grammys of steering artists into racially and ethnically defined lanes while they were passed over for top honors.
On Thursday, Grammys CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said in a statement that he was “saddened to hear that BTS has chosen not to participate in the Grammy Awards process this year, but as a music creator, I understand and respect their decision.” He said the creation of the Asian pop category was meant to celebrate “the depth, diversity and extraordinary growth” of pop music in Asia, not to prevent those artists from receiving Grammys in other categories.
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