Photo Credit: BTS / BigHit Music
Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. responds to the news that BTS will not submit music for the 2027 Grammy Awards.
After BTS announced on Wednesday that they will not be submitting music for consideration in the 2027 Grammy Awards, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. responded with a statement clarifying the reasoning behind the new categories. The decision of the K-pop powerhouse group to withdraw from Grammy consideration arrives a month after the Recording Academy announced five new categories, including Best Asian Pop performance.
Mason said he is “saddened to hear that BTS has chosen not to participate in the Grammy Awards process this year,” adding that he respects their decision.
“I do want to clarify something that seems to be getting lost in the conversation,” he said. “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. (…) More categories mean more artists’ work is recognized. It’s never to divide, but to expand who is recognized by our 15,000 Grammy voters.”
“I also want to be very clear: submitting music in a genre category such as Asian Pop, or Jazz or Country does not exclude an artist from also submitting and being considered to the General Field categories, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year,” Mason added. “Those categories remain open to any eligible recording, regardless of genre. Recognition in a genre category and recognition in the General Field are not mutually exclusive. An artist can absolutely pursue both.”
On Wednesday, each of BTS’ seven members—RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—shared a statement on their individual Instagram accounts to address the reason they decided not to submit music for the 2027 Grammys consideration. The South Korean K-pop group made clear that the decision was related to the new Asian Pop category.
“We have decided not to submit for Grammys this year. Rather than music being divided by region or language, we hope music itself can be heard and loved for what it is,” the group shared. “We are always grateful to ARMY (their fanbase) and everyone who is always with us.”
BTS made their highly anticipated return in March with their fifth album, ARIRANG. They were notably the only K-pop group to have earned a Grammy nomination until 2026, when several K-pop artists secured major nods in top categories. The fictional K-pop group, HUNTR/X, from Netflix’s Kpop Demon Hunters, took home the award for Best Song Written for Visual Media with “Golden,” performed by real-life artists EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami.