Korean pop stars BTS are no longer interested in being a nominee at the Grammys after the Asian Pop category introduction.
After their comeback album, ARIRANG, became one of this year’s best-selling records, the South Korean megastars were generally predicted to be in the race for several of the Grammy Awards’ top honours, including Album of the Year.
In response to the Recording Academy’s addition of new categories, such as Best Asian Pop songs Performance, the international K-pop phenomenon BTS said on Wednesday that they will not submit their songs for the Grammy Awards next year.
The South Korean megastars had been widely tipped to be in the running for several of the Grammys’ top honours, including Album of the Year, after their comeback album, ARIRANG, became one of this year’s best-selling hits.
“We have decided not to enter the Grammys this year,” BTS members said in coordinated posts on their individual Instagram accounts.
“We hope that music is heard and loved for what it is, rather than being defined by region or language,” they said.
With their 2020 smash song “Dynamite,” which was performed entirely in English, BTS became the first all-South Korean group to dominate Billboard’s US top singles chart.
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The trio has performed at the Grammys and received multiple nominations, including Best Music Video, but they have never taken home a prize.
After the band’s break due to mandatory military service, ARIRANG, which is named after a South Korean folk song, examines subjects such as Korean identity through extended English lyrics.
However, it would not have qualified for the Grammys’ new Best Asian Pop Music Performance category, among five new categories announced last month, because it requires entries to make “meaningful use” of at least one Asian language.
The Recording Academy said the new award aims to honour “artistic excellence in Asian pop music performances originating from or widely recognised within Asian markets, including but not limited to K-pop, J-pop and C-pop”.
It drew mixed reactions online, with some critics saying it boxes Asian artists into a separate category instead of recognising them alongside global peers.
