Even though ARIRANG is no longer being submitted to the Grammys, that doesn't change what it is: the most artistically ambitious album released this year.
It was a project that deserved to be in the conversation across multiple categories, with legitimate potential to earn nominations and wins.
However, great art remains. So let's keep talking about ARIRANG for what truly matters: its artistry, its vision, and the risks it took.
📢 PREDIKSI MAMA & MMA #BTS 🚨‼️
—[01 Agustus 2026]
Kita masih ada waktu 3-4 bulan guys buat perjuangin SOTY. Digital kita saat ini rendah bhkn anjlok untuk yg korea, sementara global udh perfect.
📍Spotify+Youtube+BB = Global
📍Melon, Genie, Flo, Vibe, Bugs, etc = Korea
Well, K-ARMY kalo masih gak bisa all out di streaming sampai november, kita bener-bener bkln kehilangan SOTY tahun ini. Karna presentasi digital korea 40%, sementara global hanya 20%.
✨MAMA
— Artist of The Year #1
— Album of The Year #1
— Song of The Year #3 🆘
— Best Male Group #1
SPAGHETTI is expected to win “Best Collaboration” award in the 2026 MAMA Awards 🥳
Hobi girlies please be wise and keep adding SPAGHETTI to all of your hobi playlists 😌 BTS will probably attend the awards ceremony and I want to see #jhope accept this award with LS girls too 😭
O renomado produtor Sleep Deez, vencedor do Grammy, contou que conversou com membros da Academia da premiação e que a ideia inicial era usar o grupo BTS como cobaia da categoria Asian Pop e futuramente criar uma série de categorias específicas para asiáticos:
"Eu conversei com alguém que trabalha na Academia e eles disseram que (o BTS vencer) seria uma situação ganha-ganha pra premiação. O BTS ainda estava no exército quando eles começaram a criar esse prêmio. E o raciocínio era que o BTS provavelmente seria cotado pras categorias maiores com o retorno deles (...). A pessoa me disse que o prêmio não foi criado pro BTS, mas que estaria mentindo se dissesse que eles serem os primeiros a ganhar não seria o sonho do Grammy. Porque o BTS vencer o primeiro significaria que outros artistas no futuro iriam querer seguir o mesmo caminho e ganhar esse prêmio porque o BTS ganhou. (...) E aí a intenção era, mais artistas querem esse prêmio, (...) e eventualmente a categoria iria se expandir em categorias mais focadas em gêneros musicais específicos (pra Ásia), talvez até por país. E a minha resposta foi, 'Então vocês queriam usar o BTS como ratos de laboratório'. A pessoa disse que não gostava desse termo (...)."
”As a Grammy winner, let me tell you the truth: BTS doesn't need a Grammy. Their stadium tour alone is bigger than any stage the Grammys have EVER had”
Sleep Deez, a well-respected producer who has worked with BTS, has confirmed via his inside source at the Grammys that BTS were, in fact, gonna be the guinea pigs/test dumbies/poster child for the "Asian Pop Performance" category.
They wanted to legitimize it as a "win-win" for both BTS and the segregation of Asian artists by the Academy. What they did NOT expect was that BTS would have self-respect/self-worth and thought they would be DESPERATE for western/Grammys validation. That is why you see them coke ranting on every social media platform.
"The most relevant point being that Asia is not a genre, it’s a continent composed of about 50 countries." — Rolling Stone
Go back to school .@RecordingAcad
https://t.co/ia9NLwUnTk
Following BTS' decision about grammys, Nigerian media outlet YNaija urges artists of color to stand together:
"This is a time for solidarity among artists who are not from the U.S, to boycott the Grammys until their artistry is recognised beyond their continent."
The biggest "Criminal Organization" , a private detective ARMY, has just discovered that the Grammy CEO is affiliated with SM Entertainment and Kakao 🫢🫢 We love it !!
In an article highlighting the participation of Korean artists at this year's Lollapalooza in Chicago, Marie Claire Korea recognizes j-hope's role in paving the way for other Korean artists by becoming the first Korean artist—whether as a soloist or as part of a group, male or female—to headline the festival.
The article also emphasizes the broader impact of his historic achievement, noting that it helped open doors and create greater opportunities for other Korean artists on the global festival stage:
"In July 2022, the first Korean artist to take the main stage at Lollapalooza Chicago was BTS member j-hope. At the time, j-hope performed 18 songs over about an hour and connected with an audience of approximately 105,000. Later, Lollapalooza also stated that j-hope’s headlining concert became the starting point for the large-scale participation of K-pop groups."
Source: https://t.co/TBYDriv6Et
History was made. Congratulations #jhope for being the first South Korean artist to headline the main stage of a major U.S. music festival. 💜 #Hobipalooza#Lollapalooza#Lolla
#BTS continues to rule iTunes, at #1 on the Worldwide song chart for a 4th straight day with "Aliens"! "Aliens" is about the group’s experiences as K-artists navigating the Western-dominated music industry, treated as perpetual outsiders despite their massive global success! The song is #4 on European iTunes after 3 days at #1, and after reaching #1 in 86 countries including the US! BTS are the only Act with 2 songs in the Top 5 of the Worldwide iTunes chart, including "NORMAL" at #5 after 8 days at #1!💪🕺🕺🏻🕺🏻🕺🏻🕺🏻🕺🏻🕺🏻🥇🎵➕🥷1⃣🌎🎵✖️4⃣🕛➕4⃣🇪🇺🎵& 1⃣💥8⃣6⃣🌎&🇺🇸🎵➕🪙🔴🔵5⃣🌎🎵👑💜
"NORMAL" is #7 on European iTunes after 7 days at #1!
BTS is #6 on Spotify Global Top Artists Chart and #7 on the Global Digital Artist Rank with 2861 points!
'BTS' top-selling, history-making 'ARIRANG' holds at #7 on the Worldwide iTunes album chart after 18 days at #1, and is #8 on European iTunes after 9 days at #1! It's currently #18 on US iTunes after peaking at #1. The Album holds at #3 on Worldwide Apple Music after a Milestone 50 days atop the chart and is #5 on European Apple Music after 36 days at #1. It's #32 now on US Apple Music after reaching #1! 'ARIRANG' has reached #1 in 133 countries on Apple Music, the most for any Album by an Asian Act ever!
Albums reaching #1 in the most countries in Apple Music history:
1. Donda — 152
2. ICEMAN — 147
3. Dawn FM — 143
4. Certified Lover Boy — 142
5. 30 — 139
6. Hit Me Hard And Soft — 138
7. ARIRANG — 133
8. The Life of A Showgirl/Eternal Sunshine — 130
'ARIRANG' has almost 4 Billion streams on Spotify (3,968B) with 6 tracks from 'ARIRANG' still charting on Global Spotify and 2 still in the Top 50 wit "SWIM" at #16 with 3,607M streams and NORMAL at #42 with 2,318M streams!
‘ALIENS’ has reached #1 on iTunes in 8 of the 9 Biggest Music Markets:
#1. US 🇺🇸
#1. UK 🇬🇧
#1. France 🇫🇷
#1. Australia 🇦🇺
#1. Germany 🇩🇪
#1. Canada 🇨🇦
#1. Mexico 🇲🇽
#1. Brazil 🇧🇷
#2. Japan 🇯🇵
BTS is the only Artist to chart 4 songs at #1 in iTunes' Biggest Markets in 2026:
1. SWIM — 9/9
2. COME OVER — 9/9
3. NORMAL — 9/9
4. ALIENS — 8/9
BTS has still 3 songs charting in the Worldwide iTunes Top 30:
#1. Aliens - #1 x 4 Days
#5. NORMAL - #1 x 8 Days
#29. SWIM - #1 x 18 Days
BTS has 3 songs charting in the European iTunes Top 180:
#4. Aliens - #1 x 3 Days
#7. NORMAL - #1 x 7 Days
#66. (+1) SWIM - #1 x 13 Days
STREAM:https://t.co/VAh5n33P8E
"Aliens" on iTunes so far (86x #1):
#1 Argentina
#1 Armenia
#1 Australia
#1 Austria
#1 Azerbaijan
#1 Barbados
#1 Belarus
#1 Belgium
#1 Bolivia
#1 Brazil
#1 Brunei Darussalam
#1 Bulgaria
#1 Cambodia
#1 Canada
#1 Cape Verde
#1 Chile
#1 Colombia
#1 Costa Rica
#1 Cyprus
#1 Czech Republic
#1 Dominican Republic
#1 Ecuador
#1 Egypt
#1 El Salvador
#1 Estonia
#1 Fiji
#1 Finland
#1 France
#1 Germany
#1 Ghana
#1 Greece
#1 Guatemala
#1 Honduras
#1 Hong Kong
#1 Hungary
#1 India
#1 Indonesia
#1 Israel
#1 Italy
#1 Kazakhstan
#1 Kenya
#1 Kyrgyzstan
#1 Latvia
#1 Lithuania
#1 Luxembourg
#1 Malaysia
#1 Malta
#1 Mauritius
#1 Mexico
#1 Moldova
#1 Netherlands
#1 New Zealand
#1 Nicaragua
#1 Nigeria
#1 Norway
#1 Oman
#1 Panama
#1 Paraguay
#1 Peru
#1 Philippines
#1 Poland
#1 Portugal
#1 Qatar
#1 Romania
#1 Saudi Arabia
#1 Singapore
#1 Slovakia
#1 Slovenia
#1 South Africa
#1 Spain
#1 Sri Lanka
#1 Sweden
#1 Switzerland
#1 Taiwan
#1 Tajikistan
#1 The Bahamas
#1 Trinidad and Tobago
#1 Turkey
#1 Uganda
#1 Ukraine
#1 United Arab Emirates
#1 United Kingdom
#1 United States
#1 Uzbekistan
#1 Venezuela
#1 Vietnam
@BTS_twt
Indian Today cooked Grammy & Zeena Koda with this😭😭
BTS never asked for the category to disappear. They never suggested other Asian artists should reject it. Nor did they dismiss the work of those who fought for its creation. Instead, they drew a boundary around themselves++