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BTS Boycotts Grammy Submission Over Asian Category

8/3/2026

Summary

BTS Boycotts Grammys

BTS announced they will not submit music to the 2027 Grammy Awards, saying the new Asian-music category still divides music by region and language.
RM told 78,000 fans at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on August 2, 2026 that he prefers café conversation to online negativity and urged love over hate.
Fans, many in hanbok or Hangul apparel, cheered louder despite criticism that the boycott was white-centric.

Summary

BTS Cancels Submissions

Grammy.com removed BTS’s 2021 “Dynamite” and 2022 “Butter” videos immediately after the boycott announcement.
The Recording Academy gave no comment, leading fans to claim retaliatory censorship.
CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said he was “saddened” by BTS’s decision and defended the Best Asian Pop Music Performance category unveiled June 16.
BTS posted on July 29 they will not submit ARIRANG, which entered the Billboard 200 at #1, saying the category isolates music by language.

History

Historical Context

In 1992 the Recording Academy created the Best World Music Album Grammy, aiming to honor non-Western artists while segmenting music by geography. The inaugural award went to Youssou N'Dour’s ‘The Guide (Wommat)’ and the 1992 ceremony drew roughly 30 million television viewers worldwide. Today BTS’s refusal to submit music to the 2027 Grammys echoes that earlier categorization, as RM addressed 78,000 fans at MetLife Stadium while Harvey Mason Jr. defended the Asian Pop Music Performance category. The recurring backlash suggests that segmenting music by language may perpetuate cultural division, prompting the Recording Academy to reconsider how global artistry is recognized.

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BTS Boycotts Grammys

BTS announced they will not submit music to the 2027 Grammy Awards, saying the new Asian-music category still divides music by region and language.
RM told 78,000 fans at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on August 2, 2026 that he prefers café conversation to online negativity and urged love over hate.
Fans, many in hanbok or Hangul apparel, cheered louder despite criticism that the boycott was white-centric.

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