BTS Pulls Out of the Grammys. The Reason Is a New Award Built Just for Them.
All seven members of BTS posted the same statement to their Instagram Stories on Wednesday: they will not submit their music for consideration at the 69th Grammy Awards next February.
"We have decided not to submit for Grammy consideration this year," the joint statement read. "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." The decision pulls "ARIRANG," the group's March comeback album, out of contention entirely. The record topped the Billboard 200 with 641,000 units in its first week - the biggest week for a group album in more than a decade - while lead single "Swim" debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100.
The withdrawal follows the Recording Academy's announcement last month of five new Grammy categories, including Best Asian Pop Music Performance - a category widely expected to go to BTS, given "ARIRANG" was already considered a favorite there alongside nominations in the running for Album of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. responded to BTS's decision Wednesday night: "I am 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 added that genre categories and the General Field "are not mutually exclusive," and that the new category was created "to celebrate the depth, diversity and extraordinary growth of pop artistry coming out of Asia."
Reaction to the Asian Pop category has been split since its announcement. Some in the industry welcomed it as a guaranteed foothold for Asian artists at an awards show that has historically overlooked them; critics countered that the category functions as a separate lane rather than genuine recognition, since only one continent's music gets its own dedicated Grammy field. BTS itself has a five-nomination history at the Grammys stretching back years, with zero wins and only a single nomination that landed in the show's marquee General Field categories - and that one came as a featured act on a Coldplay song, not under their own name.
BTS is currently in the middle of the Arirang World Tour and returns to MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Aug. 1 and 2 for the U.S. leg's next stop. Neither BTS nor HYBE has commented further on the decision beyond Wednesday's joint statement, and the group's touring schedule continues unchanged through the rest of the year.
