The New York Times on the Grammys' new “Best Asian Pop Music Performance” category:
— “The Recording Academy should stop inventing new awards categories, especially ones based on ethnicity, nationality or language…”
The New York Times discusses BTS withdrawing from Grammy consideration:
"The largest Asian entertainment companies, with lots of new acts to promote, may not want to fight that system on principle. But BTS, possibly the biggest act in the world since Jackson, is perhaps the only Korean recording act with the freedom and leverage to spark a reckoning.
So will this be a moment where artists and entrepreneurs conspire to force the major institutions of this business to break its addiction to racism dressed up as demography?
Every artist, whether BTS or Bad Bunny, deserves access to the largest market without being filtered out or qualified."
[Forbes] With the success of their most recent album, ARIRANG, dominating the charts and breaking numerous sales records, many experts have slated it as a leading contender for the Grammy Awards.
The BTS members have spoken in the past about their desire for the golden gramophone.. But as time went on, BTS grew even bigger, breaking records and receiving other awards and recognition. Over their 13 years as a group, BTS has won over 500 awards domestically and internationally.
So when the album did eventually release and received global and critical acclaim, with the poise to dominate this awards season, the Recording Academy announced in June that there would be several rule changes and five new categories for the upcoming 69th Grammy Awards next year including Asian Category.
But with the Asian Pop Performance category, BTS’s refusal to participate in the Grammy Awards is a sign of protest over the new category that is meant to divide. The group has proven with this album, ARIRANG, that language has no barrier, as the group continues to embark on their World Tour across North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, Oceania, and more from all walks of life will sing along to the traditional Korean folk song, “Arirang,” during their “Body-to-Body” segment.
BTS’s lack of presence in “music’s biggest stage” is their way of saying they’ve had enough with them. The members have mentioned their disdain towards the awards show
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