By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. has responded to the news that K-pop powerhouse BTSwill not submit their music for consideration at the forthcoming 2027 Grammy Awards.
“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 jr. wrote on the Grammys’ official Instagram page.
On Wednesday, all seven BTS members — RM, Suga, j-hope, Jimin, V, Jung Kook and Jin — shared the same note on Instagram, stating that they would not be submitting their comeback album, “ARIRANG” or its songs for Grammys.
“We hope our music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language,” they wrote, just over a month after the Recording Academy announced five new Grammy categories, which include best Asian pop music performance.
According to the rulebook, the category recognizes releases across K-pop, J-pop, C-pop and beyond. But some fans viewed it as a racialized barrier for Asian performers.
In his statement, Mason jr. stated that the new category was created in order to celebrate more voices across the Asian music industry — not to separate those artists from other awards.
“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,” he wrote. “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.”
He added a reminder that submitting in a genre category — such as the new Asian pop award — does not exclude an artist from submitting to the general field categories like album, song and record of the year.
“Recognition in a genre category and recognition in the General Field are not mutually exclusive,” Mason jr. said. “An artist can absolutely pursue both.”
BTS has never won a Grammy, though they’ve been nominated for five: three times in the best pop duo/group performance category as well as album of the year (for their contributions to Coldplay’s “Music of the Spheres”) and best music video for “Yet to Come.”
In fact, no K-pop act had ever won a Grammy before this year, when “Golden” from the Netflix animated film “KPop Demon Hunters” took home the trophy for best song for visual media. It capped a highly visible night for K-pop at the Grammys — an institution where the genre has long been undercelebrated despite its massive international following.