Highlights
- BTS' Aliens topped iTunes Top Songs charts in 78 regions, including the U.S., the U.K. and India.
- The milestone comes after BTS opted out of the 69th Grammy Awards, indicating dissatisfaction over the newly created Asian pop category.
- The move echoes earlier Grammy boycotts by notable artists over category segregation.
BTS has withdrawn from the 69th Grammy Awards, taking a public stance against the Recording Academy's latest Best Asian Pop Music Performance category. All seven members posted matching statements on social media Wednesday (July 29, 2026), stating they hope their work can be "heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language."
After the withdrawal announcement, Aliens, a B-side track from the group's fifth studio album ARIRANG. The song attained No. 1 on the iTunes Top Songs chart across 78 regions, including the U.S., the U.K., France, Brazil, India, and Australia. The chart movement arrived months after the album's original release and aligned with the group's departure for New York on July 31, 2026, to resume their U.S. tour dates. Notably, many South Korean media reports linked the chart surge to fan-driven streaming initiatives, with social media flooding with hashtags such as "#WeStandWithBTS."
Lyrical Theme of Aliens and Industry’s Stance on BTS’ Move
Co-written by members RM, Suga, J-Hope, and Jungkook, and co-produced by American producer Mike WiLL Made-It, Aliens uses extraterrestrial creatures to symbolically depict the group's global trajectory. South Korean news outlets, including Chosun Biz and The Korea Times, noted the Korean-language lyrics as a commentary on the hindrances faced by non-Western artists, including BTS, in Western mainstream markets.
Catalog and non-single tracks from the group have also been experiencing chart movement in recent times. For instance, BTS’ Dynamite crossed the 2 billion-mark on YouTube a few days ago, with Spotify noting a listenership surge tied to the song on the platform. Simultaneously, Butter and Idol surpassed 1.1B and 1.4B views on YouTube. Also, back in December 2025, the group's 2018 track Anpanman rose to the top of Billboard's World Digital Song Sales chart before the band's full-member reunion.
Amidst this surge and decision to forgo Grammy participation, many industry figures publicly acknowledged the group's stance. Epik High frontman Tablo, Netflix animated feature K-Pop Demon Hunters director Maggie Kang, and producer Mike WiLL Made-It posted stories supporting the band's stance on social media platforms like Instagram.
Celebs show support for BTS
Institutional Response to BTS’ Withdrawal
The withdrawal puts an increased focus on the Recording Academy's category design for international acts before its February 7, 2027, ceremony. Recording Academy Chief Executive Harvey Mason Jr. defended the new category on the same day when BTS announced their withdrawal, stating it was intended to grow regional recognition instead of isolating non-Western artists.
The alleged boycott follows earlier artists’ decisions to skip Recording Academy submissions over category structure and nomination processes. For instance, Frank Ocean declined to submit his 2016 album Blonde, while The Weeknd boycotted the 2021 ceremony after receiving no nominations for Blinding Lights, whereas Drake withdrew two nominations before the 2022 awards showcase.
The development emphasizes the ongoing debates around the Academy's structural adjustments for non-Western music. Despite integrating K-pop artists, songwriters and producers such as Seventeen's Woozi, Enhypen's Jungwon and Le Sserafim's Huh Yunjin to its voting body last August, non-Western and crossover acts have seen mixed results in major Grammy categories.
