[Interview: Suga / July 24, 2021, SBS News] "We were honored to be nominated and watched the Grammys last time, but unfortunately, we didn't win.
If possible, I'd love to be nominated once more and win an award." Back in 2021, BTS did not hide their hopes for the Grammy Awards.
At the 64th Grammy Awards held the following year, they even performed on stage.
However, five years later, the atmosphere has completely changed.
Yesterday (July 29), all members of BTS posted messages on their respective social media accounts expressing their intention to refuse submission.
The messages stated, "We have decided not to submit our work to the Grammys this year.
We hope that music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being categorized by region or language."
Over the years, BTS has been nominated a total of five times with hits like "Dynamite" and "Butter".
The nominations included Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, Best Music Video, and Album of the Year, but they never won an award.
It is interpreted that the background behind BTS directly expressing their refusal to submit lies in the "Best Asian Pop Music Performance" category newly established by the Grammys last month.
The category groups K-pop, Japan's J-pop, and the Sinophone region's C-pop together under the name "Asian Pop".
Critics are asking, "What kind of genre is Asian pop anyway?", questioning why countries with completely different languages and musical styles are lumped together under a single continent.
Britain's The Guardian evaluated this decision as a "polite but clear rebuke," while the Associated Press reported that some fans view the new category as a "racialized barrier" for Asian artists.
As the controversy grew, the Grammys also spoke out.
Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. explained in a released statement, "It is not about segregation, but about expanding the scope of recognition."
He added that submitting to the genre category does not restrict general field consideration.
However, the controversy has not subsided despite the explanation.
Reactions are growing that it is difficult to understand why Asian music was singled out into a separate category based purely on language.
This has been Kang Kyung-youn for SBS.
Reported by Kang Kyung-youn | Video by Jung Yong-hee | Graphics by Lee Su-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
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