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Grammys CEO Defends New Asian Pop Category After BTS Says They Won’t Participate in 2027 Awards

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CitrixNews Staff
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Grammys CEO Defends New Asian Pop Category After BTS Says They Won’t Participate in 2027 Awards

By Charisma Madarang

Charisma Madarang

Contact Charisma Madarang on X Contact Charisma Madarang by Email View all posts by Charisma Madarang July 29, 2026 LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - APRIL 03: (L-R) V, Suga, Jin, Jungkook, RM, Jimin and J-Hope of BTS attends the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 03, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic) Grammy CEO Harvey Mason jr. released a lengthy statement after BTS announced that they won't be participating in the 2027 awards. Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Earlier on Monday, BTS announced that they would not be submitting their colossal comeback album, ARIRANG, for the 2027 Grammy Awards. The supergroup’s decision arrived after the introduction of a Best Asian Pop Music Performance category and sent shockwaves across the music industry.

Hoping to mitigate the situation, Grammy CEO Harvey Mason jr. took to social media seeking to clarify that the new category was not intended to single out K-pop artists.

“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,” Mason said. “I do want to clarify something that seems to be getting lost in the conversation. The Asian Pop category was created to celebrate the depth, diversity and extraordinary growth of pop artistry coming out of Asia. The spirit of this new category is to shine a dedicated spotlight on these important artists. More categories mean more artists’ work is recognized. It’s never to divide, but to expand who is recognized by our 15,000 Grammy voters.”

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Mason stressed that submitting music in Asian Pop does not exclude an artist from also being considered in the more coveted general categories such as Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year.

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