“I hope that music can be heard and loved for its own sake, rather than being distinguished by region or language”
- BTS July 29, 2026
BTS we are so proud of you!
#WeStandWithBTS
[Billboard] GRAMMYs has always stressed that Awards and nominations are not and should not be based on commercial success. Still, an artist posting those numbers should not be asking to be let in; they’re already here and should be allowed to take up as much space as they’ve earned — regardless of perceived public acknowledgment.
BTS is not turning down recognition. They are turning down a version of recognition they think is smaller than the one their year has already earned, and doing so at the moment that could certainly deliver the trophy they spent so many years chasing. As noted above, “SWIM” would not be eligible in the Asian pop category, but such album standouts as “Hooligan,” “2.0,” “Aliens” and “Body to Body” — the last of which reinterprets the Korean folk song the LP is named after — are easily Grammy-worthy, and BTS’ name recognition alone could have led to the Academy giving them their first trophy. Future releases and solo projects could likely produce several more. But BTS has never been one to rest on past accomplishments, and ARIRANG is a specifically globally focused record that brought in a wave of new collaborators to shake up the formula that had already earned them six No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 and six No. 1 singles on the Hot 100; with ARIRANG‘s release, their total on both tallies is up to seven.
RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook may not have a better shot at their first group Grammy than the one they just declined. But they seemed to have withdrawn because the alternative was more than likely to win in a way that would confirm a premise they have spent their entire careers disproving: that their music is a regional variant or an alternative to the mainstream rather than part of general pop culture itself.
#BTS have seen this movie before and they know how it ends, but this time they’re leaving before the finale and telling everyone why on the way out.
https://t.co/5ux5KQQzTu
🔝🔟 SONGS ON WORLDWIDE ITUNES
1⃣Aliens - #BTS (#방탄소년단)
2⃣Dai Dai - #Shakira & #BurnaBoy
3⃣NORMAL - BTS (방탄소년단)
4⃣Movin To The Sun - #HUGEL, #ImaelAngel & #UltraNaté
5⃣Rise Slow - #KimoSounds
6⃣The Way You Are - #ElectricCallboy
7⃣Jamaican - #HUGEL & #SOLTO (FR)
8⃣Here She Comes - #Airbourne
9⃣hate that i made you love me - #ArianaGrande
🔟Mama, I still call your name - #NoahNine