What Have Grammy Awards Officials Said?
On Wednesday night, in a statement shared with various outlets, the Recording Academy’s CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said: “I am saddened to hear that BTS has chosen not to participate in the Grammy Awards process this year, but as a music creator, I understand and respect their decision.” Mason then defended the Asian Pop category’s introduction, saying it was created to “celebrate the depth, diversity and extraordinary growth of pop artistry coming out of Asia.” He added that more categories allow for more artists’ works to be recognized and the intent is not to “divide.” The Grammys boss also noted that: “Submitting music in a genre category…does not exclude an artist from also submitting and being considered in the General Field categories, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year…Recognition in a genre category and recognition in the General Field are not mutually exclusive. An artist can absolutely pursue both.”
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Tangent
BTS have had five Grammy nominations in the past, including three consecutive Best Pop Duo/Group Performance nominations in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Their single “Yet to Come (The Most Beautiful Moment)” was nominated for “Best Music Video” in 2023. However, the band has never won at the Grammys.
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further reading
BTS says it will not submit music for next year’s Grammys (Yonhap News)