BTS refuses to submit for next year's Grammys... protests the separate new category for 'Asian Pop'

BTS has officially announced that they will not submit music for the 69th Grammy Awards to be held next February. BTS members Jin, RM, Suga, J-Hope, V, Jimin, and Jungkook announced on the 29th through their individual Instagram and other social media accounts, ″We have decided not to submit for this year’s Grammys.″ They added, ″We hope music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language,″ expressing gratitude to their fan club ARMY and everyone. The Grammy Awards announced in mid-June that they would establish a new category called ’Best Asian Pop Music Performance’ targeting Asian music such as K-pop, J-pop, and C-pop. The Recording Academy explained that the creation of this category is to recognize the artistic excellence of Asian pop music and its influence on the global music industry. However, there has been criticism that separating Asian music into a distinct category could exclude Asian artists from major awards such as Song of the Year, Album of the Year, and Record of the Year. After completing their military service, BTS released their fifth full-length album ’ARIRANG’ last March, achieving number one on both the main Billboard singles and albums charts in the U.S. Although this album was eligible for Grammy submission, BTS decided not to submit it. From 2021 to 2023, BTS was nominated for three consecutive years in categories including ’Best Pop Duo/Group Performance’ at the Grammy Awards but did not win. In February, Black Pink members Rosé and Cats Eye were also nominated but did not win. This year, the OST ’Golden’ from the Netflix animated film ’K-Pop Demon Hunters’ won a Grammy for the first time in the K-pop genre, but it was an award given to creators in the ’Best Song Written for Visual Media’ category. The 69th Grammy Awards ceremony is scheduled for February 7 next year, and submissions for nominations will be accepted until August 28.