Awards
BTS Won’t Submit Music for 2027 Grammy Consideration
BTS will not submit music for consideration at the 2027 Grammy Awards. The announcement came shortly after the Recording Academy unveiled a new category, Best Asian Pop Music Performance.
In a joint statement posted to social media, the group confirmed that neither recent singles nor material from their March album “ARIRANG” would be entered this year.
Photo: Instagram
“We have decided not to submit our work to this year’s Grammy Awards,” the statement read. “We hope music can be heard and loved for itself, beyond regions or languages.”
The statement reflects the group’s view that music should be judged on its own merits rather than being defined by region or language.
The Recording Academy introduced Best Asian Pop Music Performance to recognize excellence in K-pop, J-pop, C-pop and other Asian pop forms. To qualify, recordings must feature an Asian language prominently. Songs performed entirely in English are not eligible. The Academy described it as an expansion of representation.
BTS, however, framed the issue differently. Their statement suggests concern that geography and language could become the primary lens for evaluation, rather than the music itself.
It touches on a long-running debate: should international artists be celebrated within a dedicated category, or should they compete, and be judged, in the general field?
Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said he was disappointed but respected the decision. He also clarified that artists who do submit to genre categories remain eligible for the top awards, Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year.
The decision also comes at an important time for the group. “ARIRANG” is BTS’ first full album since all seven members completed military service and reunited. It was led by “SWIM,” an English-language single that became one of the group’s biggest releases of the year. Despite five prior Grammy nominations, including nominations for “Dynamite,” “Butter,” and “My Universe” with Coldplay, the group has yet to win a Grammy.
Photo: Instagram
The decision marks a rare move by one of the world’s most influential music groups, choosing to step back from the Grammy submission process even as a new category appears designed to recognize more Asian pop artists.
Their absence will be noticed during the next Grammy season. The move is unlikely to diminish BTS’s standing as one of the world’s biggest music acts.
Whether the new category succeeds in broadening representation or further compartmentalizes it will be tested in the coming years. For now, BTS has made its stance clear. The focus, at least for 2027, is not on awards campaigns. It is on the idea that music should be heard on its own terms.