K-pop group Stray Kids didn't submit any music for the 2027 Grammys, its label JYP Entertainment confirmed. JYP gave no reason. The news broke right after Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said the Grammys' new Best Asian Pop Music Performance award will debut as planned. The Academy announced that category in June. It covers K-pop, J-pop, C-pop and more, and songs must make "meaningful use of one or more Asian languages." In late July, BTS said it wouldn't submit its album Arirang. "We hope our music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language," the group said. NME reported that Stray Kids had joined BTS's boycott. Nominations come out Nov. 16, and the show airs Feb. 7.

1. The New Award Opens a Door for Asian Artists

Mason says a dedicated award will honor more Asian artists and won't block anyone from the top prizes.

More awards mean more winners. Mason said in July that the category was "created to celebrate the depth, diversity and extraordinary growth of pop artistry coming out of Asia." "More categories mean more artists' work is recognized. It's never to divide, but to expand who is recognized," he wrote. He said entering the Asian pop category doesn't stop an artist from competing for Album or Record of the Year.

The Academy says the loudest voices backed the award. Mason said the Academy held listening sessions and talked with leaders of the Asian music community. "The loudest feedback we heard was from people who were enthusiastic supporters of the category," he said. He also said, "We understand this conclusion will not satisfy everyone, and that never feels good."

Many more Asian acts could finally get a shot. A Korean agency representative told the Korea Times in June that the category "opens the door for far more artists to enter the conversation than before." BTS itself has five Grammy nominations and no wins. Culture reporter Anjana Pawa criticizes the award, but even she admits supporters make "a genuine case": a separate lane may be the most realistic way for Asian artists to win.

2. The Award Is a Separate Lane, and Skipping It Is the Right Call

BTS and its backers say the award sorts artists by where they're from, and that sitting out sends the right message.

The Grammys don't sort Western pop by language. Megan Moon, a researcher at Adelaide University, called BTS's move a "powerful statement." She noted that the Grammys don't lump British, American and Australian music into an "Anglo" category. Vanessa Madden, who runs the BTS fan group Army Australia, put it simply: "Music transcends language. That's the whole point."

Critics say the award lets Asian artists win without competing at the top. Jay Song, an honorary associate professor at the Australian National University's Korea Institute, called the category "pathetic and defeatist, and somewhat racist." Pawa wrote that an award meant to fix exclusion "ends up building a smaller, more specific exclusion within it." She called it a side door that recognizes Asian artists "without displacing anyone in the categories that hold the Grammys' greatest prestige."

BTS doesn't need the Grammys to prove itself. Arirang has spent six months on the Billboard 200 and topped it for three weeks. Stephanie Choi, an assistant professor of ethnomusicology at the University of Colorado Boulder, wrote in Time that "the Grammys are no longer the only institution capable of conferring global recognition."

3. The Academy Defined Asian Pop the Wrong Way

Choi and other scholars say the award's rules don't hold together and lump too much music under one label.

The language rule contradicts the Academy's own rulebook. The rules say "the musical style is determinative of eligibility, not the ethnicity or nationality of the performer(s)." Yet a song still has to give an Asian language a significant role. "If eligibility is determined by musical style, what does language have to do with it?" Choi asked. Choi does say the award could bring "greater visibility for Asian artists in American mainstream media."

One label can't cover a whole continent. Music critic Jung Min-jae told the Korea Times that "lumping together the music of Asian countries that don't have much in common leaves room for criticism." Dorothy Finan, a lecturer in cultural industries at the University of Leeds, said the Academy isn't in a good position to define Asian pop. She asked, "Who was consulted on the creation of the new Asian pop music performance category?"

Where This Lands

Mason says the new award adds a lane for Asian artists without blocking them from the top prizes. He says the loudest feedback came from its supporters. BTS and its supporters say the award sorts artists by region and language. The Grammys don't do that to Western pop. Choi and other scholars say the Academy defined "Asian pop" badly. They say its language rule cuts against its own style test. Stray Kids hasn't said why it sat out.

Sources