Earlier on Monday, BTS announced that they would not be submitting their colossal comeback album, ARIRANG, for the 2027 Grammy Awards. The supergroup’s decision arrived after the introduction of a Best Asian Pop Music Performance category and sent shockwaves across the music industry.
Hoping to mitigate the situation, Grammy CEO Harvey Mason jr. took to social media seeking to clarify that the new category was not intended to single out K-pop artists.
“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,” Mason said. “I do want to clarify something that seems to be getting lost in the conversation. The Asian Pop category was created to celebrate the depth, diversity and extraordinary growth of pop artistry coming out of Asia. The spirit of this new category is to shine a dedicated spotlight on these important artists. More categories mean more artists’ work is recognized. It’s never to divide, but to expand who is recognized by our 15,000 Grammy voters.”
Mason stressed that submitting music in Asian Pop does not exclude an artist from also being considered in the more coveted general categories such as Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year.
“As we continue to expand the reach, our membership and our awards, regardless of geography or language, I want to emphasize that we will continue to listen to the global music community and work to honor and celebrate all the artists whose music moves the world,” Mason said.
In their post announcing their withdrawal from consideration for the 2027 awards ceremony, BTS wrote: “We decided not to participate in the Grammys this year.” The message, which was shared by each member across their individual Instagram accounts, added: “We hope music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided into region or language.”
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