South Korean music group BTS has announced that it will not submit its music for consideration at the 2027 Grammy Awards, citing concerns over the Recording Academy’s newly created Best Asian Pop Music Performance category.

In separate messages shared on Instagram, all seven members explained that they had chosen not to participate in this year’s Grammy Awards process. The group said they believe music should be appreciated based on its artistic value rather than being classified by geography or language.

“We have decided not to enter the Grammys this year. I hope that music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language,” the members wrote.

Although the statement did not directly criticize the Recording Academy, it has been widely interpreted as a response to the new award category introduced ahead of the 2027 ceremony.

When unveiling the category last month, Recording Academy President Harvey Mason Jr. said the decision was made after members of the music community expressed a desire for greater recognition of emerging and underrepresented genres. Alongside the Asian pop award, the Academy also introduced a Best Latin Song category.

The announcement, however, prompted debate within the global music industry. Critics argued that Asian and Latin pop are already well-established genres with large international audiences and questioned whether creating region-specific awards could unintentionally separate artists from competing in the Grammys’ most prestigious categories.

The Recording Academy has not publicly responded to BTS’s decision.

For many years, Asian pop artists struggled to gain recognition at the Grammys. BTS became the first K-pop group to receive a Grammy nomination in 2021, marking a milestone for the genre. Since then, Korean artists have achieved increasing success at the awards.

At the most recent Grammy Awards, Golden, from the film KPop Demon Hunters, won Best Song Written for Visual Media, becoming the first K-pop act to claim the award. The song also earned a nomination for Song of the Year, one of the Grammys’ four major categories.

Meanwhile, Rosé’s collaboration with Bruno Mars, APT., received nominations for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, though it did not win any of those awards.

According to the Recording Academy’s eligibility rules, the new Asian pop category requires songs to make “meaningful use” of an Asian language. While Golden and APT. contain significant English lyrics and may not have qualified, BTS’s recent Korean-language material would likely have been eligible.

The upcoming Grammy Awards are also set to feature several additional categories, including Best R&B Collaboration or Duo/Group Performance, Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance, and Best Traditional Folk Album.

The 2027 Grammy Awards are scheduled to take place on 7 February in Los Angeles.