The Producer Behind Six BTS Songs Says ARIRANG Is a Grammy Album. He Might Be Right.
Three AMAs on Monday. Five hundred million Spotify streams on Tuesday. Now the conversation in Seoul - and in Los Angeles - has turned to whether BTS can win a Grammy.
"The numbers are crazy, and the music is fire," Derrick Milano told The Korea Herald on May 20, days before BTS swept the 52nd American Music Awards. "It's a really cohesive album from top to bottom. I can listen to it all the way through, over and over and over again. For me, that's a Grammy Award-winning album." Milano is not a peripheral figure here. The Grammy-winning songwriter behind tracks for Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj, and Megan Thee Stallion participated in six songs on ARIRANG: "Hooligan," "Aliens," "Normal," "Merry-Go-Round," "Swim," and "2.0." He approached the sessions, by his own account, "as a student." His connection to BTS began through Nicole Kim, vice president of A&R at Big Hit Music and formerly the VP of A&R at Columbia Records overseeing Jennie's US promotions, who reached out while Milano was working in Los Angeles.
On "Swim" specifically - the Hot 100 No. 1 that Big Hit Music confirmed surpassed 500 million Spotify streams on May 26, making it the first song released anywhere in the world this year to reach that mark - Milano said the track's staying power came from its universality. "Hearing it on radio, hearing it in stores, hearing it in commercials. 'Swim, swim.' It's just something that sticks with people." The song was nominated for Song of the Summer at the AMAs based on just six days of tracking data following its March release. It won.
The Grammy architecture behind ARIRANG was deliberate. Of the 48 overseas production contributors on the album, eight are Grammy winners. Ryan Tedder and Diplo - the two lead contributors - have three Grammys each. El Guincho, who shaped ARIRANG's most experimental stretches, is known for his work with Rosalía. Mike WiLL Made-It, who produced "2.0," has previously worked with Kendrick Lamar. BTS has received Grammy nominations before - "Dynamite" for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance in 2021, "Butter" in the same category in 2022, "My Universe" with Coldplay for Album of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance in 2023, and "Yet to Come" for Best Music Video in 2023 - but has never won.
Korean music critic Lim Jin-mo told Seoul Economic Daily that ARIRANG's commercial and critical profile makes at least a nomination plausible. "There is now a possibility that the Grammys will open up at least 'Best Pop Duo/Group Performance' to BTS," he said. "There is also a strong chance of a nomination for 'Album of the Year.'" Grammy nominations for the 2027 ceremony will be announced in November. The eligibility window closes September 30.
Milano also discussed BTS's upcoming performance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup final halftime show on July 19 at MetLife Stadium, where the group will co-headline alongside Madonna and Shakira. He did not disclose which songs BTS plans to perform.
Sources: "BTS' next stop after the AMAs? The Grammys, says Derrick Milano" - The Korea Herald, May 26, 2026 / "Derrick Milano approached BTS as 'a student' - and ended up shaping 'Arirang'" - The Korea Herald, May 26, 2026
