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K-pop group BTS will not be submitting any music to the next Grammy Awards.
The seven members of the band – RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook – dropped a joint statement on Instagram on Wednesday to share the news.
“We hope that our music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language,” reads the statement. “We thank the ARMY [BTS’s official fan club] and everyone who has been close to us.”
The announcement comes just a month after the Recording Academy, which organizes the Grammys, announced a new category for Asia’s top pop act for this year’s Grammy cycle.
The Recording Academy’s description of the new category says it “recognizes excellence in the performance of Asian pop music originating from or widely recognized within Asian markets, including but not limited to K-pop, J-pop and C-pop.”
It goes on to specify that nominated songs will contain “meaningful use of one or more Asian languages.”
Many songs from the new BTS album, Arirangthey are sung in English, which may be self-explanatory.
BTS released earlier
Except for five nominations – including hits like this one Dynamite again Butter – and with three performances at the ceremony over the years, BTS has never won a Grammy award.
All seven members are voting members of the Recording Academy and have been since 2019.
The team is in the midst of a big comeback year.
After the group members were released from compulsory service in the South Korean army, they were released Arirangtheir first album in years. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with its lead single, Swimminggot the No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
BTS can now be added to the list of artists who have publicly criticized the Grammys or decided not to submit their music to the awards in recent years, including Frank Ocean and Canadian singer The Weekend (who made amends with the Recording Academy last year).
In 2020, Canadian rapper Drake named the school after The Weeknd’s album. After Hours I got zero words.
“I think we need to stop being shocked every year by the disparity between influential music and these awards and just accept that what was once the highest form of recognition may no longer be relevant to current and future artists,” Drake wrote on Instagram at the time.
After years of global dominance, K-pop stars could finally reach the top of America’s biggest music awards this weekend with nine nominations – including four for KPop’s most popular song Demon Hunters, Rosé for Record of the Year, and Katseye for Best New Artist.
CBC News reached out to the Recording Studio, which has not yet released a response to BTS’ announcement. CBC News has not heard back.
In 2026, Gold from KPop Demon Hunters it was the first K-pop song to ever win a Grammy. That same year, Rosé, a member of Blackpink, became the first K-pop artist to receive a record of the year nomination. He was playing in this show but he didn’t win.
Just like they did at the FIFA World Cup halftime show, BTS is hitting the road in North America on their Arirang world tour. They will stop at Toronto’s Rogers Stadium in August.
