BTS will not submit music for the Grammys after Asian Pop announcement — TIME
In the United States, BTS announced that it will not submit its music for consideration for the Grammy Awards following the announcement of a new Best Asian Pop Music Performance category for the 2027 ceremony. This was stated in a column by ethnomusicologist Stephanie Choi published in TIME.
The group's decision sparked discussions among K-pop fans. Some fans fear that a separate category for Asian pop music could isolate artists from the awards' main nominations and reduce their chances of recognition in them.
Terms of the new category
Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said the category was created to recognize the diversity and growth of pop music from Asia. According to him, submitting a work to a genre category does not prevent an artist from also being considered for Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year.
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At the same time, the rules stipulate that an Asian language must play a significant role in the composition, while incidental or minimal use does not meet the criteria. Songs performed entirely in English cannot be entered in the Asian Pop category. The Academy also does not allow different language versions of the same recording to be submitted to separate performance categories.
Questions about a shared category
Choi points out that these rules create a dilemma for K-pop performers, who often release Korean- and English-language versions of the same song. If the English-language version is submitted to another performance category, the Korean version cannot be entered separately as Asian Pop.
The author also questions the grouping of K-pop, J-pop, and C-pop under the single label of “Asian pop music,” as these genres are linked to different languages, music industries, and cultural histories. In her view, BTS can opt out of the Grammys due to the group's global recognition and the availability of other major platforms, but not all Asian or Asian American musicians have the same choice.
