Harvey Mason Jr. Responds to BTS Boycott

Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. has issued a statement following the surprise announcement from K-pop supergroup BTS that they will not submit music from their best-selling ARIRANG album for consideration to the 2027 Grammy Awards.

The seven members of BTS wrote on social media, “We hope music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided into region or language.”

The boycott appeared to be a protest against the newly created Best Asian Pop Music Performance category.

Read Mason Jr.’s statement below.

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.

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.

I also want to be very clear: submitting music in a genre category such as Asian Pop, or Jazz or Country does not exclude an artist from also submitting and being considered in the General Field categories, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year.

Those categories remain open to any eligible recording, regardless of genre. Recognition in a genre category and recognition in the General Field are not mutually exclusive. An artist can absolutely pursue both.

The Grammy organization is here to serve music and all the people who make it. As we continue to expand the reach, our membership and our awards, regardless of geography or language, I want to emphasize that we will continue to listen to the global music community and work to honor and celebrate all the artists whose music moves the world.