ON July 29, BTS announced, in Korean, that “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.”
It was a bold stance. A Grammy is just about the only music award missing from BTS’ arsenal, and by not submitting its work to the Grammys in the year of their major comeback, the group was making a considerable sacrifice.
This was BTS’ answer to the new Grammy category for best Asian pop music performance announced in June. According to the Grammy website: “This Category recognises artistic excellence in Asian pop music performances originating from or widely recognised within Asian markets, including but not limited to K-pop, J-pop and C-pop, with meaningful use of one or more Asian languages. Awards are presented to the performing artist(s).”
From this description, I was unable to decipher any language requirements. To clarify the exact rules, one has to turn to page 17 of the 91-page Grammy rulebook for the 2027 Grammys, which states:
“Recordings must feature meaningful use of one or more Asian languages.
“An Asian language should play a significant role within the song in bilingual or multilingual structures such that the recording is identifiable with that language. ... Recordings performed entirely in English are not eligible in this category.”
According to those rules, many of the songs on BTS’ new album Arirang may not qualify. Its lead single, Swim, certainly would not.
So, why did BTS wait until July 29 to make its announcement about the Grammys?
I’m sure this was not an easy decision. Many in their fandom, known as Army, pointed to the significance of the number 29.
On Arirang, there is a song titled No. 29. This is simply a ring of the Sacred Bell of Great King Seongdeok, which was designated as the 29th national treasure of South Korea. In other words, BTS seemingly chose a symbolic date that corresponds with arguably their most Korean song from the album.
One of the things I admire most about BTS is the group’s brave response to racism and xenophobia.
As a scholar of race and ethnicity and Asian Americans, I’ve always appreciated their position in defending South Koreans, Asians and the Asian diaspora-at-large. BTS defended “Stop Asian Hate” during the Covid-19 pandemic by tweeting a simple message on X. This message became the most retweeted message of 2021.
Later, then-US President Joe Biden invited the members to the White House to speak out against anti-Asian sentiment while promoting the inclusion of Asians in the US. Most recently, the song Aliens directly targets how Asians are seen as “alien.” I wrote about this in an earlier column and repeated RM’s rap from the song:
It goes, let me, honey, talk about the business
Everybody know now where the K is
How far are we taking this? Dammit
Still cursing us out? Misfortune turns into blessings
Pardon me, Mr Kim Gu, tell me how you feel
I’m the only one who can speak English, but that is how we kill
You guys with those big eyes say
Are they for real? For real?
Even in this phrase, the issue of language and exclusion is mentioned. RM mentions the importance of Hallyu with the “K” and that they have received “blessings” from “misfortune.”
I suspect that BTS, as well as many other K-pop artists, is frustrated by this turn of events. The group has been told that American radio stations have excluded K-pop songs because they are not in English.
As a result, one can hear more and more K-pop songs that are mostly in English. I can’t think of a single K-pop song from the past 5-10 years without at least a few English phrases.
It must be so infuriating that after recording so many songs in English to now be told that it’s not only language that is the source of their exclusion – it is the fact that they are foreign. Because of their Asianness, however it is defined, they have a realistic shot at a Grammy if they have their own category.
The Recording Academy’s CEO Harvey Mason Jr responded to BTS by stating, “The Asian Pop category was created to celebrate the depth, diversity and extraordinary growth of pop artistry coming out of Asia.”
However, timing is everything. I think this sentiment would have been more apropos after Psy’s Gangnam Style charted all over the world in 2012. But now, BTS and many K-pop artists are as mainstream as they come. Nineteen of the top-selling physical albums in 2025 were K-pop, J-pop or C-pop. BTS’ current Arirang tour will likely be one of the highest-earning tours of all time.
I was reminded of the classic K-Drama Reply 1988, which asks the audience to remember its past. Addressing the Grammys in Korean and on July 29 signals that BTS wants to be treated as equals while being proud of their Korean roots. — The Korea Herald/Asia News Network
Grace Kao is an IBM professor of sociology and professor of ethnicity, race and migration at Yale University.
