BTS boycotts 2027 Grammy Awards over new Asian pop category

The South Korean group BTS has announced they will not submit their latest album, ‘Arirang’, for consideration at the 2027 Grammy Awards. The decision serves as a protest against the Recording Academy’s introduction of a new ‘Asian Pop Performance’ category.

BTS stated their desire for music to be “heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language.” The group expressed concern that creating specific categories for Asian artists might lead to segregation rather than true inclusion, potentially isolating them from major, mainstream award categories.

The new Grammy category requires the “meaningful use of one or more Asian languages,” a rule that could disqualify several tracks from the group’s recent work, such as the single ‘Swim’. Critics and music experts have noted that such categories may function as a form of confinement, reinforcing hierarchies where non-English music is relegated to specific segments while English-language pop remains the central standard.