do you know how fucking refreshing it is to see an artist stand their fucking ground against a gigantic fucking institution in 2026. I feel vindicated, not only as an ARMY, but as a human. BTS, you will be good. you were always gonna be good, but it only confirms it.
imagine telling people “yeah I won my first grammy because BTS had the balls to reject discrimination in the music industry while I chose not to. Oh, and my trophy might as well have ‘bts charity' engraved on it.”
I don't think people fully understand the magnitude of this decision.
Some of the music industry's most respected producers, writers, engineers, and creatives worked on ARIRANG. A project built to the highest artistic standard. One producer even spoke publicly about hoping the album would receive Grammy recognition.
Then the Recording Academy introduced a category specifically for Asian pop.
And BTS chose not to submit.
Think about that. The biggest musical project of the year. One of the strongest commercial and artistic contenders. A project that could have competed across multiple major categories. It simply won't be in the race because the artists chose principle over prestige.
Moves like this don't happen often. When artists at BTS' level willingly walk away from the biggest stage in music, the conversation shifts because of what they refused to endorse.
“There are methods of cheating but wouldn't it be better to make music in a more honest way?” — seokjin at mama 2019
He has been spitting bars since the very beginning
it’s so genius of them if you think about it. whoever wins that category will forever have to live with knowing that they only won it because bts didn’t submit. it’ll be an asterisk on the wikipedia page. the grammys viewership will tank. bts put out an album that smashed records everywhere. bts get to exist with their heads held high, as always, and don’t have to kowtow to a shitty system
paving the way doesnt always mean the first to win an award, it means the one who makes impact where it matters and allows for those who follow in their footsteps to be seen and treated fairly too. that is what bts are doing, and that takes courage
Major award shows which introduced K-pop/Asian related categories, majorly due to the impact of BTS:
• GRAMMYs (2027)
• iHeartRadio Music Awards (2024)
• Billboard Music Awards (2023)
• American Music Awards (2022)
• EMAs (2021)
• VMAs (2019)