Another K-Pop Megastar Band is Boycotting the Grammys

When BTS announced this Sumer that they would not submit any of their music for consideration to the 2027 Grammy Awards, it was a sign of the American music industry’s faltering power. The undisputed K-Pop giants and one of the biggest music acts on the planet had decided the Recording Academy’s controversial new category for Asian pop music was an act of dismissal to their genre. Rather than be tokenized, they said no to the entire operation. They knew that the Grammys needed them more than they needed the Grammys. Now, they’re not alone in that protest.

Another mega-successful K-Pop group, Stray Kids, has announced that they did not submit for the Grammys. The band recently scored their ninth US number one album. In the album chart, only one other band has scored more number one albums: The Beatles. They were probably the frontrunner for this new Best Asian Pop category. Not anymore. Their statement from their record label JYP simply said: “Stray Kids did not submit for the Grammys.” How do you say “power move” in Korean?

Earlier this year, all eight members of the band were given voting privileges at the awards (as were BTS), which makes their decision to withdraw all the more potent. They all know what’s up. The Grammys have had plenty of opportunity to celebrate K-pop, which is one of the defining sounds of 21st century music. But the Recording Academy is very old-fashioned, very white, and hates change. It took until THIS YEAR for a Spanish-language album to win Album of the Year (that would be Bad Bunny’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos.) Only two albums recorded primarily in a non-English language have won that award. The first time was in 1965.

Many Asian artists noted how vague and tokenizing the idea of an “Asian pop” category was. Korean pop is not identical to, say, Indonesian pop. Asia’s a big place, after all. The rule that nominated songs should make “meaningful use” of an Asian language would also have excluded some of the most recognizable K-Pop acts, who largely sing in English, like Blackpink. The intent is to obviously widen the Grammys’ scope and acknowledge a crucial part of the modern industry, but it feels like few people trust the Recording Academy to do it properly and not just shove an entire continent of music into one category and be done with it. Do they really need to keep spaces free for Jacob Collier? Who listens to that dude voluntarily?!

The Grammy nominations are revealed on 10 December. Current frontrunners for Album of the year include Olivia Rodrigo, Rosalia, Ella Langley, and Taylor Swift. BTS and Stray Kids will be satisfied with their record-breaking success.