BTS has announced that they will not submit music for next February’s 68th Grammy Awards, in response to the creation of a new Asian Pop Music Performance category.

The announcement was shared by the members themselves via Instagram stories, rather than from their company Big Hit Music. It reads: “We have decided not to submit to the Grammys this year. We hope music can be heard and embraced for what it is, beyond region or language. Thank you to ARMY and everyone continues to support us.”

BTS has submitted music in the past, and several members have declared winning a Grammy Award as one of their career goals. This year, it was expected that their fifth studio album ARIRANG would be submitted. As the group’s post-military reunion project, ARIRANG was crafted to represent BTS’ new musical direction and had a particularly big presence on global charts. Under Grammy guidelines, which instruct Grammy members to vote on each entry on a basis of artistic and technical merit, ARIRANG’s intricacy could well have earnt BTS that sought-after award.

Last year’s 67th Grammy Awards also saw the first K-pop-adjacent song to win a Grammy, as “Golden” from Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters received the award for Best Song Written For Visual Media. This increased the attention given to K-pop in anticipation of the 68th Awards taking place in 2027.

Notably, BTS’s announcement and their message urging for an appreciation of music “beyond region or language” comes several weeks after the Recording Academy unveiled the Best Asia Pop Music Performance category – a category defined by both region and language. According to the official Grammy Awards website, the new category aims to “[recognize] 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.”

Given the similarity in wording, BTS’ announcement appears to be a direct response to the category and its separation of Asian music from mainstream awards. While BTS previously would’ve been primary candidates for awards such as Album Of The Year or Song Of The Year, this addition means that the group would have been more likely to receive the award for the new Asian category instead. The category also places limitations on which songs can receive an award, with BTS’ “NORMAL” ineligible due to the lyrics being written almost entirely in English.

In addition, this situation follows a pattern seen at the Grammy Awards in the past. Drake called for the ceremony to be replaced in 2020, arguing that rap music and wider black artistry was overlooked in mainstream categories. Alongside the Asian music category, a Best Latin Song category has also been added this year, following Bad Bunny winning Album Of The Year at the last Awards with an album sung entirely in Spanish – and thus reducing the probability of a Latin artist winning Song Of The Year overall. Both prompt thought over possible limitations being placed on certain genres.

Some critics have regarded the new Asian music category as positive, claiming that recognition from the Recording Academy reflects the growth of Asian music worldwide. Today, BTS have instead raised questions over whether this is the case.