Cinema VinesAfter the Recording Academy announced a new Best Asian Pop Music Performance category that will debut at the 69th Grammy Awards in 2027, the South Korean boy band BTS made headlines by announcing they would not submit their record‑breaking album Arirang for consideration. The decision, revealed on July 29 through Instagram stories posted by each of the seven members—RM, Jin, SUGA, j‑hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook—was framed as a statement against a system that still separates artists by region or language.
In the statement, the group said, “We have decided not to submit our music to the Grammys this year. We hope music can be heard and loved as music itself, rather than being divided by region or language.” They also thanked their fan base, the ARMY, for their support. BTS’s move follows the earlier boycott by The Weeknd, who stopped submitting music after his 2020 album After Hours was snubbed in 2021, but later reconciled with the Academy after a surprise performance in 2025.
The creation of a dedicated Asian pop category appears, at first glance, to be a step toward recognizing the genre’s global influence. Yet many critics argue that such separate categories reinforce a “divide‑and‑conquer” approach rather than truly integrating international artists into the main awards. The debate echoes earlier controversies when Latin artists were confined to genre‑specific categories until Bad Bunny’s historic win for Album of the Year with his Spanish‑language record Un Verano Sin Ti in 2023 proved language need not be a barrier.
BTS, already a global phenomenon with chart‑topping hits and sold‑out stadiums, has long pushed for equal treatment at the Grammys. Their refusal to submit Arirang is a bold move that questions whether the new category is genuine recognition or merely another way to keep Asian artists in a separate lane. The band’s statement underscores their hope that music will be judged on its artistic merit alone, rather than its geographic or linguistic origin.
