"Grammy and BTS: Who Needs Whom More?" Foreign Media and Global Fan Boycott Reactions [K-EYES]

*This content was translated by AI.

As BTS (Jin, Jungkook, Jimin, RM, J-Hope, V, Suga) declared they would not submit to the 2027 Grammy Awards, reactions poured in from domestic and international fandoms as well as overseas media outlets.

On the 29th, BTS members posted on their respective Instagram stories: "We have decided not to submit to this year's Grammys. We hope music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being categorized by region or language. Thank you to ARMY and everyone who has always been with us."

This decision came about a month after the Grammy organization announced five new categories in June, including "Best Asian Pop Music Performance." HYBE stated, "It is difficult to accept such changes at a time when BTS was most likely to win major awards," while clarifying that this does not constitute a company-wide boycott. A company representative added, "Other artists under our label will proceed with submissions as planned if they intend to do so."

The Hollywood Reporter noted that this decision came right after the introduction of the Asian Pop Performance category and reported the background that "BTS has been nominated for the Grammys five times in the past but has never won an award."

AP News analyzed that this decision appears to be a "sharp rejection" of the Grammy's new category. Outlook Response conveyed that "there is heated debate within and outside the music industry over whether the new category represents a gesture of global inclusion or yet another glass ceiling."

Earlier, RM stated in an interview with GQ prior to its release that "we do not desperately want the Grammys. We don't want to keep saying we want to win the Grammy," leading some to view this decision as a predictable outcome.

Among fans, a large portion shared a sentence from a column by Forbes contributor Brian Lowry titled "BTS's Failure to Win the 2020 Grammy Award Exposed Cultural Blind Spots in the Recording Academy": "While BTS continues to break records, the Grammys continue to lose their stature. Who needs whom more?"

On the domestic community forum TheQoo, overwhelming public support emerged. Reactions included: "It was obvious they wanted us to promote but didn't want to give awards," "Bye, Grammys," "Don't you know they've been using BTS as a hostage for promotions during the Grammy ceremony for three consecutive years?" "Grammys, stop making weird awards. It's not like this is the first time they've mocked us while having no intention of giving anything," "There is no genre called Asian Pop. If drawing lines by region doesn't bother you, then go ahead and suffer racial discrimination," "Latin Pop and Afro Pop are genres, but there is no Asian Pop genre. Can songs from India, Japan, China, and Korea all be explained under one 'Asian Pop' label?" "An award ceremony that claims authority looks so pathetic because of this. Even I, who am not a BTS fan, support them," and "I'm proud of my idol."

On X (formerly Twitter), overseas fan @seokjinbit wrote, "Do you know how incredible it is to issue such a statement during the biggest comeback period after military service?" while @sunflwerrmoon expressed anger, saying, "The Grammys who created that category are getting cursed." Another user, @sleepinginsilk, commented, "A decision that will be remembered in history. It takes guts. Respect to BTS."

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*This content was translated by AI.