ᴮᴱMAKkie⁷

Philosophy nerd who loves art. Kpop is my comfort music. #BTSNerd

[WeStreamBTS @WeStreamBTS]

I’m BTS first. Always.

Long before I became ARMY, I had strong opinions about how the US industry has treated minorities and marginalized artists.

BTS didn’t create those concerns for me, this is a decades long issue of abuse.

Honestly, one of the reasons I became ARMY was because I knew exactly what BTS would be up against in the U.S. industry.

I knew their talent alone wouldn’t protect them from bias, double standards, or being underestimated.

They would need massive support here and I wanted to be a part of that for them. That support matters.

BTS built their success differently. It wasn’t handed to them by a U.S. label. It wasn’t created by industry connections. It wasn’t some manufactured push.

It was BTS + ARMY.

Our support gives them something most artists never get: the freedom to make their own choices without depending on industry gatekeepers.

So with all the conversations, new categories, and award season drama starting to heat up, my focus stays the same:

Whatever BTS decides to do, I’m with them.

100%.

This is shaping up to be a messy and controversial award season, and more than ever, we need to stay focused, stay united, and keep supporting them the way we always have.

[priya @jinkookswife]

the concept of outperforming drake and bruno mars and then getting put in a category with the inkigayo lineup

[RJ @rapjinnies]

yk what pissing me off even more is the fact that they only mentioned east asian music as a part of the nominees as if asia is limited to only korea japan and china 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 just a bunch of useless racists making excuses

[ؘؘ @jminahs]

just realized bts could do the best thing ever and submit aliens in that asian category

[Angry Army ⁷⁼¹ @AngryArmy81]

They've literally had YEARS to create that category, but no, they create it now that they've returned with an album that none of their artists are reaching in numbers and quality, so as not to take an award away from the industry's darlings.

[Tina | ⊙⊝⊜ @MinYoongiSwagg7]

The Grammys creating an "Asian Pop Performance" category the same year BTS returns with one of the year's biggest albums feels less like inclusion and more like a new way to keep Asian artists out of the main categories.

If the music is good enough to dominate charts, stadiums, and global culture, it's good enough to compete for Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year.

Separate shouldn't mean secondary.

[ràe⁷ @uraehope]

Funny how bts wrote aliens and what grammys did was predictable.

[Liz⁷ 🪭 IS SEEING BTS @lizfaith0613]

Tyler the Creator: “Half of me feels like the rap nomination was a backhanded compliment. Like, oh, my little cousin wants to play the game, let’s give him the unplugged controller so he can shut up and feel good about it.”

Timely as fuck. Full speech below.

[NPOMV | Zine @npomvtt]

A seleção sul-coreana rompeu com a imprensa do país que cobre a Copa do Mundo após jornalistas serem gravados zombando do capitão Son Heungmin durante um treino aberto.

Os repórteres criticaram a dispensa do jogador do serviço militar obrigatório, dizendo que Son "nem serviu direito no exército". Son obteve a isenção após conquistar a medalha de ouro com a seleção sul-coreana nos Jogos Asiáticos de 2018, e completou um treinamento básico de 3 semanas em substituição.

Em solidariedade ao capitão, os atletas da seleção recusaram entrevistas mesmo após a vitória sobre a República Tcheca. A Associação de Futebol da Coreia emitiu uma advertência pública à imprensa nacional e os jogadores anunciaram que não conversarão com a imprensa, com o apoio do público coreano.

O caso é considerado a maior crise entre jogadores e jornalistas na história do futebol do país.

[PaoLa ⁱⁿ ᵗʰⁱˢ𝓑𝓪𝓷𝓰𝓽𝓪𝓷 𝓢𝓱𝓲𝓽 Fᴏʀ Lɪꜰᴇ ⁷⁼¹ @OT7BTSBestArmy]

The Recording Academy looked at BTS 2.0, then looked at Western pop acts and said:
“Yeah… we’re gonna need another category.”

Dearest Western Pop Acts,

If I were you, I’d be deeply offended that over 13,000 voting music professionals don’t believe you have what it takes to be in the same category as BTS.
💫

[𝐴𝑠ℎ⁷ 🪭 @kthnoir7]

There’s a lot to unpack here, and I’m going to say it directly. I dont care if I get cancelled but this needs to be said.

For years, BTS were told they weren’t big enough, mainstream enough, or "Grammy material." Then they became one of the biggest acts in the world. They broke records, sold out stadiums across continents, topped charts repeatedly, and built a global cultural impact that few artists in history can match.

And when they became too successful to ignore?

The Grammys nominated "Dynamite" and "Butter"—both English-language songs.

Let that sink in.

The songs that got BTS into the major Grammy conversation were the songs that fit most comfortably into the Western industry framework. Yet BTS's discography is filled with critically acclaimed Korean-language music that has had enormous cultural and artistic impact.

Now we have a "Best Asian Pop Music Performance" category.

And before anyone calls that progress, let's ask the obvious question: why does there need to be a separate category at all?

If Asian artists are good enough to dominate global charts, sell millions of records, headline festivals, influence culture worldwide, and compete with every major artist in the industry, then they are good enough for the same categories as everyone else.

Inclusion isn't creating a separate lane after Asian artists prove they can win in the existing ones.

Inclusion is treating them as equals.

That's why BTS's lyrics in "Aliens" hit so hard:

"어쩜 그래 shameless
예의를 차려 we aliens
해는 동쪽에서 risin'
Aliens, aliens"

No matter how successful some artists become, there are still systems and institutions that treat them as perpetual outsiders.
And that's exactly why this conversation matters.
Because when BTS were impossible to ignore, the response shouldn't have been to create another box and place Asian artists inside it. The response should have been to judge them by the same standards as every other artist competing for the biggest awards in music.

ARMYs, we have a mission.

Talk about Arirang everywhere. Put it in AOTY conversations. Put it in ROTY conversations. Write threads. Make edits. Share analyses. Start discussions.

If we believe it deserves those nominations, then let's make enough noise that nobody can pretend it doesn't belong in the room.

They ignored BTS until they couldn't.

Let's make sure they can't ignore Arirang either.

[Molly🎧🏳️‍🌈 @RasberryRazz]

I had to tell one of my male classmates that blue balls was not a good reason for forcing a girl to sleep with you and he ended up crying cause he realized the rape accusation he had in college had validity cause he would use the blue balls excuse to guilt trip girls.

[tan into the sun⁷ @taesl0ver]

gay person: im gay

society: okay

jungkook: let’s switch the filter from cool to warm the moment namjoonie hyung smiles

[bts jin² @songofseokjin]

taehyung has no idea he is The Kim Taehyung right like 😭😭😭😭😭😭

[‏ً @omgsidewalks]

The best response I’ve seen to AI anything has been, “why should i bother reading something that nobody could be bothered to write”

[Aynat⁷ | ᴬᴿᴵᴿᴬᴺᴳ ²⁰'⁰³'²⁶ ⊙⊝⊜ @BTSkiNoona]

HYBE has its flaws but their reputation is bad in Korea mainly bc the Big 3 have deep connections in media & HYBE being shit at PR.

But if you stopped stanning BTS because of HYBE, you were NEVER ARMY.

No one stopped liking MJ because Joe Jackson was a menace.

[k @trulyjmin]

both of them smiling at eo bc they're too in synch might be my favorite thing ever it's so sweet

[💙 ᴮᴱ바다⁷ 💐 (SLOW) 💙 @eternalhyyh]

🐰 Please increase the volume of the 7th in-ear in the 2nd in-ear
🐯 Same here, please increase the volume of the 6th in-ear in the 2nd in-ear
🐹 Why are you guys increasing the volumes of your voices in MY in-ear?

LMAOO he can never catch a break 🤣

[mary⁷ @koonimies]

what an honor it’s been to watch you grow