BTS boycotted the Grammys and now fans want other bands to do the same

BTS's decision to boycott the Grammys is now trickling down into unwarranted pressure for other K-pop bands to follow suit: Stand in solidarity and forgo their chance at winning an award.

Local K-pop fans are pressuring other acts to take a stand against the Recording Academy's new, allegedly discriminatory Asian pop category and sharply turning against the U.S. awards show. 

"It's a racist award ceremony," one post on the Korean online forum Nate Pann said Wednesday. "Now that BTS has boycotted the racist Grammys, any K-pop artist who eagerly submits to the Grammys will probably just get mocked, and even if they get lucky and win something it'll feel completely gross."

"I genuinely hope there's no K-pop artist tone-deaf enough to eagerly participate now," read another comment on the same day.

The Recording Academy announced in June that it would introduce a new Best Asian Pop Music Performance category in the Grammy Awards for music from Asian countries including Korea, China and Japan. The decision drew criticism that K-pop groups could be restricted to the new category rather than competing on equal footing in the Grammys' general field awards.

All seven members have since declared they would not submit music to the upcoming Grammys, slated for Feb. 7, 2027. 

The organization on Wednesday expressed regret over BTS's decision but also defended the newly created Asian pop category. "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," Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said in a statement.

Fans, however, remain unconvinced. "The Grammys created one category called Asian Pop, basically gave it to BTS, and made clear the general awards — the real ones — are off-limits to K-pop," reads a Threads post on Thursday. 

"Honestly, shouldn't every K-pop artist join in?" the same post continued, referring to BTS's boycott. 

K-pop artists have consistently come away empty-handed at the Grammys, which have long faced criticism for their reluctance to recognize the genre.

BTS earned its first Grammy nomination for “Dynamite” (2020) in 2020, then for “Butter” (2021) the next year. In 2022, the group received further nominations for its Coldplay collaboration “My Universe” (2021), as a featured artist on Coldplay’s “Music of the Spheres” (2021) and its song “Yet To Come” (2022). However, the group never won.

Rosé's "APT" earned three major nominations — Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance — though the song also did not win.

"Golden" (2025), from the original soundtrack of the hit animation “KPop Demon Hunters” (2025), became the first Korean song to win Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 68th Grammy Awards in February. The trophy's recipients — EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami — are Korean American and American solo artists, not a K-pop group.

BY LEE JIAN [[email protected]]