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BTS Will Not Enter 'Arirang' Songs for 2027 Grammy Awards Consideration
Billboard • • general
Key Points:
- BTS announced they will not submit music from their comeback album Arirang for consideration at the 2027 Grammy Awards, expressing a desire for music to be appreciated beyond regional or language divisions.
- The group’s decision implicitly critiques the Recording Academy’s new Best Asian Pop Music Performance category, which requires "meaningful use" of an Asian language, excluding BTS’s English-language hits like "Swill."
- BTS’s boycott comes amid a successful comeback year, with their album Arirang debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and marking the biggest group album opening in over a decade.
- The new Grammy category has faced criticism for potentially segregating Asian artists into a subcategory, limiting their chances to compete in more prominent pop or general field categories, although artists can still compete in multiple categories with different recordings.
- BTS’s absence from the Grammys impacts the awards’ prestige and viewership, as the group has been a notable presence with multiple past nominations and performances on the Grammy telecast.
