BTS will not be entering their album ARIRANG for consideration at the 2027 Grammy Awards.In syndicated Instagram stories shared across all seven members' accounts, RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook issued a statement on their decision. Translated from Korean by the Meta-owned platform, each statement reads:"We have decided not to enter the Grammys this year. I hope music itself can be heard and loved rather than being distinguished by region or language."Each member then thanked BTS fans, known as ARMY, and "all of you who are always with me," to close the statement.
The K-pop powerhouse's decision to not put their sixth studio album forward for the Grammys comes a month after the Recording Academy's addition of five new award categories in June, including Best Asian Pop Music Performance. This award in particular came under scrutiny from K-pop fans and journalists alike, called out as another example of the Grammys splitting awards when non-white artists and artists who perform in languages other than English dominate the cultural zeitgeist and deservedly take home the gold.The Grammys' description for Best Asian Pop Music Performance describes the award as one that "recognizes artistic excellence in Asian pop music performances originating from or widely recognized within Asian markets, including but not limited to K-pop, J-pop and C-pop, with meaningful use of one or more Asian languages." The rules have a few more paragraphs of detail, but essentially, the award groups "Asian pop" into one generalised category, which is separate from major categories like Album of the Year and Record of the Year.
