Global superstars BTS will not submit their music for consideration at the 2027 Grammy Awards.
All seven members of the HYBE-signed group, RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook, announced the decision in identical statements posted to their individual Instagram accounts on Wednesday (July 29).
“We have decided not to submit to the Grammys this year,” the members wrote.
“We hope music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language,” they added, in a statement translated from Korean.
“We thank ARMY and everyone who is always with us,” the statement concluded, using the name of the group’s fanbase.
The move comes weeks after the Recording Academy introduced a new Best Asian Pop Music Performance category.
The BTS members did not name the new category in their posts.
MBW reached out to HYBE for comment and was directed to the artists’ official statement published via Instagram.
The Recording Academy announced the award on June 16, as one of five new categories at its 69th ceremony.
The category, according to the official description, “recognizes artistic excellence in Asian pop music performances originating from or widely recognized within Asian markets, including but not limited to K-pop, J-pop, and C-pop, with meaningful use of one or more Asian languages”.
The 69th Grammy Awards are scheduled to air on February 7, 2027.
“2027 is going to be an amazing year for the Grammy Awards, and one that reflects the extraordinary growth we’re seeing across music,” Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said in a statement when the new categories were unveiled.
BTS were first nominated for a Grammy in 2021, for Dynamite in the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance category.
The group have been nominated across three ceremonies and have performed at the show, but have never won a Grammy.
Their decision keeps their latest album, ARIRANG, out of contention at the 2027 awards.
ARIRANG, the group’s first release since its members completed mandatory military service in South Korea, arrived on March 20 and broke streaming records across major platforms.
The album drew more than 110 million streams on Spotify in its first 24 hours, while label Big Hit Music said it sold 3.98 million copies on its opening day.
It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and lead single SWIM topped the Billboard Hot 100 – the group’s seventh No. 1 on that chart.
ARIRANG also reached the top of album charts in South Korea, Japan, Germany and the UK.
The album drove HYBE to record first-quarter revenue of KRW 698.3 billion ($477 million), up 39.5% YoY.
On the company’s earnings call, HYBE CEO Jason Jaesang Lee framed BTS as a “legendary brand” that would lead the global concert market “for a very long time.”
A free comeback concert in Seoul in March was livestreamed on Netflix and drew 18.4 million viewers over 24 hours worldwide, according to HYBE.
BTS are currently on a Live Nation-promoted world tour, which opened in South Korea in April, that the group has billed as “the biggest global K-pop tour of all time.”
The run marks the group’s first headline tour since 2022.
HYBE reported record second-quarter revenue of KRW 1.45 trillion ($967 million) on July 28, up 105.5% YoY, driven by the BTS world tour.
The company said concert revenue climbed 243.3% YoY to KRW 647.7 billion ($432 million).Music Business Worldwide