BTS boycotts Grammys over new Asian pop category: Boyband cites regional division
The K-pop group will not submit work for 2026 awards, joining a history of artists challenging the Recording Academy's structural changes.
By Samuel Hayes ·
BTS will not submit any work for the 2026 Grammy Awards. The K-pop group announced on social media that it is withdrawing from consideration in response to the Recording Academy's creation of a new category for best Asian pop music performance.
The band stated that it prefers music to be heard without division by region or language. The group released the statement on the same day it began a sold-out global tour following the release of its album Arirang in March. This comeback follows a multi-year hiatus for the members, who served mandatory military service in South Korea.
The Recording Academy introduced the new category alongside four others in 2026. The award recognizes contemporary popular music originating from or widely recognized within Asian markets, including K-Pop, J-Pop, and C-Pop. Eligibility requires the meaningful use of one or more Asian languages. The Academy unveiled these plans just over a month before BTS issued its boycott notice.
The K-pop group Stray Kids announced its own intent to refrain from submitting for the 2026 cycle following BTS's statement. Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, responded to BTS on Instagram. He said he was saddened by the decision but respected the group's choice.
Mason Jr. clarified that the category aims to celebrate the depth and diversity of pop artistry from Asia. He stated that the goal is to shine a dedicated spotlight on these artists and that more categories allow for the recognition of more work by the Academy's 15,000 voters. He emphasized that the intent is to expand recognition, not to divide artists.
BTS has received five Grammy nominations in the past but has never won. In February, the song Golden from the film KPop Demon Hunters became the first K-pop track to win a Grammy. Mathieu Berbiguier, a visiting assistant professor of Korean studies at Carnegie Mellon University, noted that the new category presents a double-edged sword. He argued that while it acknowledges Asian music, it may sideline K-pop from general categories.
Berbiguier described K-pop as a system rather than a single genre. He pointed out that the label was created by the foreign entertainment industry to define popular music from South Korea. Bang Si-Hyuk, founder of HYBE, told Maeil Business Newspaper in 2023 that dropping the K might help the genre expand globally. RM, a BTS member, called the debate important for the industry.
The controversy echoes previous disputes over the Grammys' categorization. In 1988, the Academy introduced the best rap performance category. Artists including LL Cool J and Public Enemy boycotted the 1989 ceremony after the award was not televised. Frank Ocean declined to submit his album Blonde in 2016, citing a dated system. Tyler, the Creator, won best rap album in 2020 but described the category as a backhanded compliment during a press conference.
The Academy dropped the term urban and renamed the category best progressive R&B album six months after Tyler's win. John Vilanova, a music scholar at Lehigh University, described the Grammys as a legacy product that adjusts in a stumbling manner. In 2011, the Academy reduced the total number of categories from 109 to 78. This change merged regional roots music and cut the world music category in half.
Four Latin jazz musicians filed a class-action lawsuit against the Academy in 2011, claiming the changes harmed their livelihoods. The lawsuit was dismissed by a New York judge, but the category was reinstated. Ian Brennan, producer of the 2012 best world music album winner, said the consolidation reduced global representation. He noted that the same artists and countries frequently dominate the global categories.
Recent efforts to widen the field include the addition of best global music album and best African music performance. Bad Bunny became the first Spanish-language artist to win album of the year this year. Miist, a Chinese singer and voting member of the Recording Academy, said the new Asian pop category offers a chance for smaller artists to be heard by the voting body.
She noted that the category provides an opportunity for musicians who record in multiple languages to showcase their work. The inaugural slate of nominees for the best Asian pop music performance category is scheduled for release next week.
