Recording Academy member Adam Merter Birson on BTS at the GRAMMYs 2027:
— "BTS ARMY should make a push for ARIRANG to win Album of the Year and not be marginalized with Best Asian Pop Music category. I think it's great if smaller artists could get recognized, but not BTS. BTS is way too big and way too important of a group to be falling into this trap."
oh BTS, you will always be a threat to everyone... they created a new category just to block you but nothing will ever be bigger than your legacy & they can't change your IMPACT!!
There’s a lot to unpack here, and I’m going to say it directly. I dont care if I get cancelled but this needs to be said.
For years, BTS were told they weren’t big enough, mainstream enough, or "Grammy material." Then they became one of the biggest acts in the world. They broke records, sold out stadiums across continents, topped charts repeatedly, and built a global cultural impact that few artists in history can match.
And when they became too successful to ignore?
The Grammys nominated "Dynamite" and "Butter"—both English-language songs.
Let that sink in.
The songs that got BTS into the major Grammy conversation were the songs that fit most comfortably into the Western industry framework. Yet BTS's discography is filled with critically acclaimed Korean-language music that has had enormous cultural and artistic impact.
Now we have a "Best Asian Pop Music Performance" category.
And before anyone calls that progress, let's ask the obvious question: why does there need to be a separate category at all?
If Asian artists are good enough to dominate global charts, sell millions of records, headline festivals, influence culture worldwide, and compete with every major artist in the industry, then they are good enough for the same categories as everyone else.
Inclusion isn't creating a separate lane after Asian artists prove they can win in the existing ones.
Inclusion is treating them as equals.
That's why BTS's lyrics in "Aliens" hit so hard:
"어쩜 그래 shameless
예의를 차려 we aliens
해는 동쪽에서 risin'
Aliens, aliens"
No matter how successful some artists become, there are still systems and institutions that treat them as perpetual outsiders.
And that's exactly why this conversation matters.
Because when BTS were impossible to ignore, the response shouldn't have been to create another box and place Asian artists inside it. The response should have been to judge them by the same standards as every other artist competing for the biggest awards in music.
ARMYs, we have a mission.
Talk about Arirang everywhere. Put it in AOTY conversations. Put it in ROTY conversations. Write threads. Make edits. Share analyses. Start discussions.
If we believe it deserves those nominations, then let's make enough noise that nobody can pretend it doesn't belong in the room.
They ignored BTS until they couldn't.
Let's make sure they can't ignore Arirang either.
“OFICIALMENTE ARIRANG de #BTS es el PRIMER Y ÚNICO ÁLBUM DE TODA LA HISTORIA con TODAS sus canciones charteando por NUEVE SEMANAS CONSECUTIVAS en el Billboard Global Excl. US”
BTS SIGUE ARRASANDO😭💜🔥
CONGRATULATIONS BTS
BTS PAVED THE WAY
#BTS_ARIRANG
#BTS is now a 'Guinness World Records 'ICON'' and makes history as the only Musical Group and Asian Act on GWR's list! 💪🐐👑💜💙
“An ICON because: BTS not only introduced K-pop to the world but also made history with their genre-spanning music covering themes such as mental health, loneliness, and coming of age" - GWR
🔗 https://t.co/w4sAkd1Onb
BTS PAVED THE WAY
MUSIC ICON BTS
LIVING LEGENDS BTS
#btspavedtheway
📊| #BTS_ARIRANG becomes the FIRST and ONLY Album in History to chart all its tracks on Billboard Global 200 for 8 consecutive weeks !
CONGRATULATIONS BTS
Yoongi never once looked back while leaving the stage during the D-DAY tour, but on the last day he did and gently closed the door behind him… something about that moment hits differently.
Finally fancam of Taehyung emotionally delivered his iconic line in Spring day “You know it all, you're my best friend” while kneeled down infront of Armys
🐻: Quiero decirles en español lo feliz que estoy. Son la razón de mi vida, eres mi todo, te quiero. Por cierto hoy es día de las madres ¿ya las felicitaron? MAMA MARIA, MAMA TERESA, MAMA COCO, gracias por habernos criado felicidades mamás
TAEHYUNG SE APRENDIÓ TODO ESTO, LLORO😭