i’m very confused as to why bts not submitting to the grammys this year is causing such an issue. because if bts weren’t ’bigger than the program’ like some of you claim…. what’s the problem?
No one’s stopping your faves from submitting to the pity category. They can enjoy their crumbs. They can use their influence y’all always claim is greater than bts’ to keep the category alive
The issue isn’t limited to music it extends to film and sports as well. BTS’s decision goes far beyond a simple choice. It is a stand against a system that continues to separate artists based on their origin, when music should be universal and every artist should be recognized equally.
Normalizing these kinds of categories is not true progress if they continue to place Asian artists in a separate space. BTS’s message has always been that music shouldn’t be defined by region or idiom.
Asian artists don’t need Western validation or a separate category to prove their worth—their talent, impact, and global success already speak for themselves.
They are not fighting Against one organization but a system of racism
you can tell grammys expected bts to be the one to give the asian category any relevancy because they have been on their 10th crashout since their statement wanting to prove its for representation. if you believe it's important you wouldn't need bts' approval for it
[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