this race is the perfect representation of bangtan's success. the MCs didnt even mention the boys until they won. just like how bts was ignored by kmedia and the music industry until they became too big to ignore
BTS has always tied their music to their current emotional state and life experiences, and that's why you can track the phases of BTS's lives just by listening to their albums. It's something I have always found so interesting about them.
my tl is overflowing with theories and lore it feels like witnessing art in real time. bts really attract some of the most brilliant, creative people ever. every time i think i've seen it all, armys come up with another connection that leaves me speechless. i'm actually emotional
I think the world isn't giving BTS enough credits for their incredible storytelling through cinematographic music videos and hauntingly beautiful from their honest emotions, hearts on their sleeves, that even something that is fundamentally monotonous & painful, can be beautiful.
bts adding this is VERY important. merry go round emphasizes that while you may feel you are moving forward in life (growing up, achieving success) you are still anchored to the same heavy anxieties. the horse vertical movement mimics life’s temporary highs and lows but the horizontal trajectory never actually leaves the circle. growing up does not mean being free from anxiety and pressure. this is bts telling us that you are NOT alone when it comes to that kind of struggle.
I don't think he gets enough credit for this, too. Like he's been doing this since pre-debut. He was doing this back when BTS were so green and raw and half of them weren't natural dancers. Remember, BTS immediately became known for their performance prowess. As much as that depends on the charisma of each member, Hoseok is the key force behind that reputation and BTS' successes on stage. Plus the hours of additional labor that goes into this kind of technical leadership...Big Hit and BTS really lucked out landing a once-in-a-lifetime talent like Jung Hoseok.
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.
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
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.