Members of the K-pop group BTS will not submit music from their comeback album for consideration at the 69th Grammy Awards in February, the supergroup announced on Wednesday.
All seven members of the group -- RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook -- posted the same statement on their individual Instagram accounts, Variety reported. The music they could have submitted would have been from their latest album, “Arirang,” according to Billboard.
“We have decided not to submit for Grammy consideration this year,” the group wrote on their social media accounts. “We hope our music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language. We thank Army and everyone who has always stood by us.”
While BTS has never won a Grammy Award, the group has been nominated five times.
The announcement appears to be a reaction to the guidelines introduced by the Recording Academy’s newly created Best Asian Pop Music Performance category, Billboard reported. It was one of five new Grammy categories introduced in June.
Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said he was “saddened” by the group’s decision but lent his support to their action, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“I am saddened to hear that BTS has chosen not to participate in the Grammy Awards process this year, but as a music creator, I understand and respect their decision,” Mason said. “I do want to clarify something that seems to be getting lost in the conversation. The Asian Pop category was created to celebrate the depth, diversity and extraordinary growth of pop artistry coming out of Asia.
“The spirit of this new category is to shine a dedicated spotlight on these important artists.”
BTS’s smash English-language hit single “Swim,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, would have been excluded from the new Asian pop category, Billboard reported.
BTS released “Arirang,” their fifth studio album, in March 2026, according to the music news website. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
The Grammy Awards will be held on Feb. 7, 2027.
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