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(Photo courtesy of BIGHIT MUSIC)<\/p>\n
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\u00a0[Hanteo News = Reporter JUNG JUNHWA] BTS, which reshaped the global popular music market, and the Grammys, which have long prided themselves on being the most prestigious awards ceremony in popular music. In 2026, the relationship between the two names entered an entirely different phase. The long-standing question of \u201cWhy can\u2019t they win an award when they are at the very top of the world?\u201d has now turned into the unprecedented situation of \u201cBTS is rejecting the Grammys on its own.\u201d From the beginning to the present, we look back at the path the two names have walked.<\/p>\n
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\u25c7 They took the stage, but the awards remained distant (2019\u20132020)<\/p>\n
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BTS\u2019 relationship with the Grammys began as \u201cguests.\u201d In February 2019, BTS appeared at the 61st Grammy Awards as the first Korean artists to present an award, and the following year, at the 62nd Grammy Awards in 2020, they joined Lil Nas X\u2019s performance, becoming the first Korean artists to take the Grammy stage. It was an event that drew attention around the world, but until then, BTS\u2019 position was still that of invited guests. Their name had yet to appear among the nominees.<\/p>\n
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\u25c7 Seeds of conflict, nominated for three consecutive years and winning none (2021\u20132023)<\/p>\n
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Change came in 2021. At the 63rd Grammy Awards, BTS was nominated for the first time in the Best Pop Duo\/Group Performance category with ‘Dynamite.’ However, the award went to Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande. At the 64th Grammy Awards in 2022, they were nominated in the same category with ‘Butter,’ but once again failed to win. At the 65th Grammy Awards in 2023, they were nominated in three categories, including for ‘My Universe,’ their collaboration with Coldplay, but ultimately remained without a trophy.<\/p>\n
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Three consecutive years of nominations, yet not a single win. It was at this point that criticism from the fandom and critics began in earnest. Criticism grew year after year, with voices saying, \u201cThe Grammys continue to overlook BTS, despite their global influence, in the major categories,\u201d and \u201cThis exposes the Grammys\u2019 white and Western-centered bias.\u201d BTS\u2019 lack of wins went beyond simple disappointment and spread into questions about the fairness of the awards ceremony itself.<\/p>\n
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\u25c7 A hiatus, military service, and suspended group activities (late 2022\u20132025)<\/p>\n
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Starting with Jin\u2019s enlistment in late 2022, the members fulfilled their military service one after another, effectively bringing group activities to a halt. Naturally, the debate surrounding the Grammys also sank below the surface for a while. Then in 2025, as the members completed their service, the foundation was laid for a full-group comeback. The time had come once again to knock on the Grammys\u2019 door.<\/p>\n
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\u25c7 A twist, controversy over a \u201cnew category\u201d erupts upon their return (2026)<\/p>\n
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BTS\u2019 momentum upon returning in 2026 was so strong that their hiatus seemed almost irrelevant. With explosive achievements, including topping the U.S. physical album chart with their comeback album ‘ARIRANG’ and launching a world tour, expectations rose higher than ever that \u201cthis time, they could finally aim for a major category such as Album of the Year.\u201d<\/p>\n
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However, those expectations were shaken from an unexpected direction. In June 2026, the Recording Academy, which organizes the Grammys, created a new category, Best Asian Pop Music Performance. The category, which groups together recordings in Asian languages such as K-POP, J-POP, and C-POP, drew a flood of criticism that it \u201ccould become a device that confines Asian music to a separate box and ultimately excludes Asian artists from the major categories.\u201d Critics said it was following the same path of \u201csegregated discrimination\u201d that R&B and rap had experienced in the past. What was intended as an attempt to expand recognition paradoxically raised concerns that it would institutionalize a \u201cglass ceiling.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u25c7 Now, a de facto \u201cboycott\u201d declaration (July 29, 2026)<\/p>\n
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The controversy ultimately led to an unprecedented decision. On the 29th, all seven BTS members posted the same statement on their respective SNS accounts, declaring that they would not submit ‘ARIRANG’ to next year\u2019s Grammys, the 69th ceremony scheduled for February 2027. The members stated, \u201cWe hope music will be heard and loved as it is, rather than being divided by region or language.\u201d It was a message aimed directly at the newly established category. As a team considered a strong contender for the major categories voluntarily chose not to submit, this is being interpreted as a de facto \u201cboycott.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u25c7 The nature of the relationship has changed<\/p>\n
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At present, the Grammys, or the Recording Academy, have not issued any official response, and there is speculation that other artists under HYBE may take similar action. What is important to note is that the relationship between the two names has fundamentally changed. It has completely shifted from \u201ca relationship marked by disappointment over not being nominated or awarded\u201d to \u201ca relationship in which one side refuses to participate while raising issues with the system itself.\u201d<\/p>\n
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In short, the frustration built up over years without a win crossed a critical point as it collided with controversy over the new category, and BTS has now directly challenged what it sees as the Grammys\u2019 structural bias, backed by K-POP\u2019s elevated global status. Attention is focused on what answer the Grammys will offer to this question posed by one of the world\u2019s top artists to the world\u2019s most prestigious music awards ceremony.<\/p>\n
joonamana@hanteo.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(Photo courtesy of BIGHIT MUSIC) \u00a0 \u00a0[Hanteo News = Reporter JUNG JUNHWA] BTS, which reshaped the global popular…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":106394,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1598,17937,11095,195,11102,54902,27288,54905,54901,54900,54903,54904],"class_list":["post-106393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-korea","tag-bts","tag-focus","tag-hanteo-news","tag-k-pop","tag-11102","tag-54902","tag-27288","tag-54905","tag-54901","tag-54900","tag-54903","tag-54904"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106393\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}