South Korea's famous K-pop group "BTS" has decided not to submit their work for the 2027 "Grammy" music awards. The group's seven members simultaneously announced this through their Instagram pages.
The statement noted that the group made a conscious decision not to be nominated for this year's award. According to it, music should be evaluated based on its artistic quality, not on language, nationality, or region.
The album "Arirang" was recognized as one of the most successful musical projects of the year, and the song "Swim" had topped US music charts, so the group was expected to participate in major nominations such as "Album of the Year" and "Song of the Year."
However, recent debates surrounding the newly established "Best Asian Pop Performance" category by the Recording Academy influenced the situation.
According to the rules of this category, participating songs must make meaningful use of Asian languages. Since over 80% of the lyrics of "Arirang" are performed in English, it did not meet the requirements of this category.
The introduction of the new category sparked heated debates among K-pop fans. Many fans criticized the Grammys for not sufficiently recognizing Asian artists.
In its statement, BTS emphasized once again that music should not be bound by any language or geographical boundaries, and should first and foremost be valued as art.
At the end of the statement, the group also expressed special gratitude to their fans.
"Thank you to Army and all the fans who have always trusted and supported us," the message reads.
Currently, the Recording Academy, which organizes the Grammy awards, has not made an official comment regarding this decision.
