The standoff between BTS and the Recording Academy over the 2027 Grammy Awards has widened into an industry-wide absence, with new reports that all of South Korea’s Big 4 agencies are now sitting out the ceremony’s controversial new Asian Pop category. What began as a principled stand by seven artists has become the biggest collective protest in the awards’ recent history.
The dispute traces back to June 2026, when the Academy announced a new “Best Asian Pop Music Performance” category, set to debut at the 69th Grammy Awards on February 7, 2027, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. On July 29, all seven BTS members announced via Instagram that they would not submit their fifth studio album ARIRANG — or any of their music — for consideration, writing: “We hope our music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language.”
How the boycott built
Stray Kids followed BTS’s lead, with JYP Entertainment confirming on October 2 that the group had not submitted its work, as reported by entertainment outlets. What the mid-October submission reports added, according to one industry tracker, is the full picture: the remaining Big 4 rosters — spanning HYBE, SM, JYP and YG — stayed out as well, turning two groups’ protest into a near-total absence of mainstream K-pop from the 2027 ballot.
Critics of the category argue that grouping Korean, Japanese and Chinese pop into a single regional slot — with eligibility rules requiring an Asian language to play a significant role — marginalizes artists who compete globally in English. ARIRANG itself is a bilingual blockbuster: its English-language single “SWIM” broke streaming records and topped the Billboard Hot 100, while the album dominated global charts for nearly five months. Despite that, BTS — nominated several times but never a winner — chose to sit out.
What the Academy says
Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. has acknowledged the backlash. In a statement shared with Billboard and reported by NME, he said it was clear “there are some artists in this space who feel that this category isn’t representing the music they work so hard to create,” adding that the Academy was committed to making sure the musicians it intends to honor “feel truly seen and heard.” Digital Music News notes that HYBE has left the door open, clarifying the move is not a company-wide boycott — a signal that reconciliation remains possible before nominations are announced.
