BTS Won’t Submit For 2027 Grammys Consideration — And Why It Matters

THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON — Episode 2272 — Pictured: Musical guest BTS poses after their performance on Wednesday, March 25, 2026 — (Photo by: Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images)

Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images

One month after The Grammys announced the Asian Pop Performance Award category for this upcoming Grammy cycle, global superstars BTS announced via their Instagrams that they will not be submitting their music for the nomination campaign.

BTS members – RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook – shared the same statement today through their individual Instagram stories, deciding not to enter the Grammys this year.

Their statement adds, “I hope the music itself can be heard and loved rather than being distinguished by region and language. Thank you to the ARMY and everyone for always being with me.”

With the success of their most recent comeback album, ARIRANG, dominating the charts and breaking numerous sales records, many experts have slated it as a leading contender for the Grammy Awards. The group’s fifth studio album, which was released in March, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, South Korea’s Circle Chart, Japan’s Oricon Charts, Germany’s Album Chart, and the UK Official Albums Chart. Their lead single, “SWIM,” made history, becoming the group’s seventh No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. All of the tracks – minus the bell “No. 29” – charted on Billboard’s Hot 100.

That’s why it came as a surprise when BTS decided not to submit ARIRANG in any category, including the coveted “Album of the Year.”

Yet, was it really that big of a surprise that BTS, one of the biggest names in music, didn’t want to participate in this American-based awards show that had disappointed them time and time again? BTS has been nominated for a Grammy five times across three years, but never won. Their first nomination for “Dynamite” was in 2021 for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, which was won by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande’s “Rain On Me.” They were then nominated again in the same category in 2022 and 2023 for “Butter” and “My Universe” (with Coldplay), respectively. In 2023, they were also nominated for Best Music Video for “Yet to Come (The Most Beautiful Moment)” and Best Album, as a featured artist on Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres. Adding salt to the injury, BTS performed at the Grammy Awards three times, in 2020, 2021, and 2022 – as the tail end of the awards show.

The BTS members have spoken in the past about their desire for the golden gramophone, which SUGA told Variety in 2020, “I grew up watching American award shows, so obviously, we all know and I know the importance of the Grammys. It’s a dream anyone working in music has.” In the same interview, RM says striving for the award motivated them to work harder, as the award represents the ultimate recognition.

But as time went on, BTS grew even bigger, breaking records and receiving other awards and recognition. Over their 13 years as a group, BTS has won over 500 awards domestically and internationally. They eventually took a break during each member’s mandatory military enlistment, and each member released their own solo projects in between.

BTS announced their comeback album after all the members were discharged from the military and reunited to create music, which was well-documented on Netflix’s BTS: The Return. It was the most anticipated album in music, setting the stage to become one of the biggest comebacks ever.

So when the album did eventually release and received global and critical acclaim, with the poise to dominate this awards season, the Recording Academy, the people behind the Grammy Awards, announced in June that there would be several rule changes and five new categories for the upcoming 69th Grammy Awards next year. The new categories, which received the most attention, include best Asian pop music performance; best R&B collaboration or duo/group performance; best traditional pop vocal performance; best traditional folk album; and best Latin song.

Like the Latin Grammys, the Asian Pop Performance category recognizes those “originating from or widely recognized within Asian markets, including K-Pop, J-pop, and C-pop. They also count recordings that feature “meaningful use of one or more Asian languages.” Recordings entirely in English are not eligible for the category.

Following his 2020 Best Rap Album win at the Grammys, American artist Tyler the Creator felt gratitude for the recognition, but also felt frustrated over being “pigeonholed,” criticizing the “urban” label as a “politically correct way to say the N-word,” opting to be considered another form of Pop music. Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny has won several Latin Grammys, which fall in the Latin music category. It’s why his nomination and win for Album of the Year at last year’s Grammys for DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS made history as the first artist to win the category with a fully Spanish-language album. Many had expected BTS to do the same next year.

But with the Asian Pop Performance category, BTS’s refusal to participate in the Grammy Awards is a sign of protest over the new category that is meant to divide. The group has proven with this album, ARIRANG, that language has no barrier, as the group continues to embark on their World Tour across North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, Oceania, and more from all walks of life will sing along to the traditional Korean folk song, “Arirang,” during their “Body-to-Body” segment.

Using an image of his character from the “Hooligan” music video, RM is dressed in a ‘70s “OldBoy” style as the message is shared. He looks like he’s ready to take on the fight – which he does in the music video. Or could it be a callback to his lyrics from the song that “rejects pop music rules”, “Yeah, we the mess, gonna get a bigger mop here (Bigger mop) / This that K, gotta get a better pop here (Better pop) / You gon’ hear this one playin’ ’round the clock, yeah (‘Round the clock)”

V used his League of Legends Master rank background as his message board. The rest of the members kept it simple with just their statement. They did not add any other comment or post.

There had been rumors of individual members submitting their solo projects for Grammy consideration. Still, there has been no confirmation of that decision – and it is unlikely, as they made their posts at the same time with the same message in solidarity.

BTS’s lack of presence in “music’s biggest stage” is their way of saying they’ve had enough with them. The members have mentioned their disdain towards the awards show. Following their Grammy loss in 2022, two months later, RM told concert-goers during their 2022 Permission to Dance On Stage – Las Vegas concert that there has been “a lot of noise out there about their Grammys and the team itself,” and assured them not to “give a shit about it.” He says, “Hating is their freedom, and they have their right to hate, but if it [were] me, I’d rather just talk with my friends in some cafe and forget about it – rather than tweeting about it or some interview. I wouldn’t do that because I’m a grown-up.”

He continues, “We didn’t come to Vegas for the Grammys. We came to Vegas for the ARMYs. The record, the title, the accomplishments, the trophies, they’re really important, but that wasn’t the first thing, the first reason why we started all these things. These two hours, communion, energy, eye to eye, singing along, dancing together, this communication, this is everything.”

BTS continues on their World Tour ARIRANG in North America this weekend.