Highlights
- Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. addresses mounting criticism of the Grammys' new Asian Pop category after BTS decided to quit the 2027 Grammy race.
- The dispute escalated as fans flagged the unexplained removal of the group’s Dynamite and Butter performance videos from the institution’s official digital platforms.
- BTS continues to prove its independent U.S. market strength by re-entering the Billboard Hot 100 while generating billions of views on YouTube.
Recording Academy Chief Executive Officer Harvey Mason Jr. has moved to issue a clarification statement, owing to the massive backlash generated after BTS announced their withdrawal from the 2027 Grammy Awards process. On July 29, all seven members of the group confirmed via their individual Instagram account stories that they won’t be submitting their fifth studio album Arirang for award consideration, highlighting that music should be known for its artistry instead of being divided by region or language.
However, the tension worsened after fans and social media users noticed that the high-profile Dynamite and Butter Grammy performance videos had disappeared from the institution’s official YouTube channel and website. Although the Academy has not confirmed if the removal was tied to distribution licensing expirations or an intentional archive purge, the timing of it has drawn massive fan scrutiny and claims of institutional retaliation.
Grammys in the Defense of Category Structure
In a statement addressing the group's pull-out, Mason expressed regret over BTS' decision while emphasizing that the Asian Pop category was created to widen representation instead of sidelining non-English acts. He noted that submission in genre-specific categories does not effectively rule out recordings from being submitted to main fields such as Album of the Year, Song of the Year, or Record of the Year, thus remaining mutually exclusive pathways.
"The spirit of this new category is to shine a dedicated spotlight on these important artists," Mason stated. Despite the CEO’s defense, BTS joins a list of commercially powerful artists such as Drake and The Weeknd, who have withheld their music from Grammy consideration over concerns about the Recording Academy's nomination process.
BTS’ Successful U.S. Award Runs Beyond Recording Academy Recognition
While BTS has gone 0-for-5 in Grammy wins despite multiple nominations between 2020 and 2023, the group’s position in the U.S. music market is built strongly upon other major award wins. The band has won many Billboard Music Awards, while also capturing the American Music Awards' top honor, Artist of the Year, twice in their career, one in 2021 and another one in 2026.
BTS' Global Success Show Success Beyond the Grammys
The friction emphasizes the group’s minimal reliance on Grammy validation to maintain its North American commercial footprint. After a headline performance at the FIFA World Cup final halftime show, ARIRANG climbed 17 spots to No. 9 on the Billboard 200 main albums chart.
Additionally, on the Billboard Hot 100, the album's track NORMAL re-entered at No. 33 after its music video release alongside a separate Korean-language version. Also, its lead single SWIM rose to No. 85 on the same chart.
Simultaneously, HYBE label BigHit Music, which manages BTS, TXT and CORTIS, also confirmed that the music video for the group's 2018 song Idol crossed 1.4 billion views on YouTube, making it their fifth release to attain that mark, as their global ARIRANG tour continues to charm people worldwide, while generating significant economic activity.
