For years, a Grammy was the one trophy K-pop fans kept waiting for. Groups sold out stadiums, topped the Billboard charts and performed on the Grammy stage, but the gramophone itself never came home. So it says a lot that in 2026, with K-pop bigger than ever in the United States, two of its biggest groups chose not to enter at all. Here is what happened, why, and what it could mean.
What happened
On 29 July 2026 (30 July in Korea), the seven members of BTS posted the same statement on their personal Instagram accounts: they had decided not to submit their music for Grammy consideration this year. That meant their comeback album ARIRANG, one of the best-selling releases of the year and widely seen as a contender in the big categories, would not be on the ballot for the 69th Grammy Awards.
Two months later, on 2 October, JYP Entertainment confirmed in a statement to the BBC that Stray Kids had not submitted any music either, including their 2026 release This & That. The label gave no reason. The confirmation came one day after the Recording Academy said it would keep the new category that started the whole discussion.
Around the same time, reports said Blackpink would also be missing from the ballot. That story is different, and we will come back to it below.
The category behind it
In June 2026 the Recording Academy announced five new categories for the 2027 ceremony. One of them is Best Asian Pop Music Performance, meant to honour pop from Asian markets such as K-pop, J-pop and C-pop. To qualify, a recording has to make meaningful use of at least one Asian language.
On paper that sounds like a win for K-pop: a dedicated award, guaranteed nominees from the scene, a trophy that will finally go to an Asian act every year. Many fans and artists see it differently. For them, a separate category based on region and language suggests that K-pop is a world-music side room rather than part of pop itself. And the groups that had worked for years to be judged next to the biggest pop acts in the world would now risk being steered into their own lane.
We hope our music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language. (BTS, July 2026)
BTS did not mention the category by name, but the timing and wording left little doubt about how fans read it. Interestingly, according to AFP, ARIRANG uses so much English that it might not have met the language rule for the new category anyway. That makes the decision look less like a practical choice and more like a statement of principle.
How the Grammys responded
Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. responded within hours in a statement on Instagram. He said he was saddened but respected the decision, and defended the new category: "More categories mean more artists' work is recognized," and "It's never to divide, but to expand who is recognized by our 15,000 Grammy voters." He also stressed that entering a genre category does not exclude an artist from the General Field, which includes Record, Album and Song of the Year.
In August, Mason Jr. said the Academy was considering dropping the category because some artists felt it did not represent their work. On 1 October, in a statement published by Variety, he confirmed that the category stays for 2027, while admitting the decision would not please everyone. A day later, Stray Kids' absence became public.
What about Blackpink?
Blackpink is also missing from the 2027 ballot, but based on what has been reported so far, it was not a protest. According to media reports, the group's 2026 mini-album DEADLINE could not qualify: lead single "JUMP" came out in July 2025, before the eligibility window opened on 31 August 2025, and the other tracks are in English, which rules them out of the Asian pop category. YG Entertainment has not commented. So Blackpink is absent, but it would be wrong to put them in the same row as BTS and Stray Kids. Worth remembering too: Rosé earned three nominations at the previous Grammys for "APT." with Bruno Mars, without any special category.
What it means
The immediate effect is simple: the first Best Asian Pop Music Performance award will be handed out without the two K-pop groups that sell the most albums in the United States. Whoever wins it in February will win a real award, but fans will inevitably ask who was not in the race.
The bigger effect is about how K-pop wants to be seen. Ten years ago, any Grammy recognition felt like a door opening. Today the biggest groups are confident enough to turn down a door that was built especially for them, and to say that they would rather compete in the main hall or not at all. For many fans, that is exactly the point: a nomination for Album of the Year would mean more than a trophy in a category of its own.
There is also a practical side for the Academy. A new category only builds prestige if the most famous artists in that scene take part. With BTS and Stray Kids out, and the language rule excluding many English-heavy K-pop singles, the category starts life with an image problem. It would not be surprising if its rules change again before the 2028 ceremony.
And they are not alone in staying away this year: Drake has reportedly kept his 2026 albums out of the running too, for reasons of his own. Skipping the Grammys is clearly no longer unthinkable for the biggest names in music.
Key dates
- June 2026The Recording Academy announces five new categories, including Best Asian Pop Music Performance.
- 29 July 2026BTS announce they will not submit for the 2027 Grammys.
- 28 August 2026Submission deadline; the eligibility window runs from 31 August 2025.
- 1 October 2026The Academy confirms the Asian pop category stays for 2027.
- 2 October 2026JYP confirms that Stray Kids did not submit.
- 16 November 2026Nominations for the 69th Grammy Awards are announced.
- 7 February 2027The 69th Grammy Awards ceremony.
We will update this story when nominations are announced in November. Until then, the question fans keep asking is not who will win, but whether the category will look the same next year.
Sources Recording Academy: five new categories for the 2027 Grammys, Recording Academy: Best Asian Pop Music Performance rules.