At the end of last month, BTS’s decision to withdraw from the Grammys sent ѕнσ¢кwaves through the global media, accompanied by a firm message: “Music can be heard and loved as music itself, rather than being divided by region or language.” The boycott immediately reignited a controversy that had already been simmering, putting the Grammys at the center of criticism over allegations that the “Asian Pop” category was being used to isolate and discriminate against Asian artists.

The Recording Academy began αѕѕociating BTS with the concept of “Asian Pop Music” from the early planning stages of the new category. What they did not expect was for BTS to openly boycott it, ultimately throwing their entire plan into disarray. Ironically, they seemed to have little choice but to resort to petty retaliatory moves, such as removing BTS videos from the GRAMMY homepage or issuing pushback that fans described as hollow and completely unconvincing.

Meanwhile, BTS received support not only from fans around the world through the “ART HAS NO ALIENS” campaign, but also from people within the industry. Notable figures include Hyundai Motor Company CEO and Vice Chairman Diego Bluff, Indonesian music producer Salim Merchant, Epik High’s Tablo, K-Pop: Demon Hunters director Maggie Kang, Bang Yong-guk, and Daniel Dae Kim. In particular, even three-time GRAMMY-winning producer Ricky Kej voiced his strong support for BTS’s stance.

Finally, after more than half a month of back-and-forth, the GRAMMYs appear to have raised the wнιтe flag in the face of BTS. Because no matter how hard they try to defend themselves or retaliate, the “Asian Pop” category has already been thrown into complete chaos with seemingly no way out!

According to reputable outlets such as Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter, the U.S. Recording Academy — the organization behind the Grammys — has signaled that it may make changes to the “Best Asian Pop Music Performance,” the category currently at the center of the storm. Organizers are now considering revamping or reconceiving the category ahead of the 2027 awards season. Notably, this move comes despite the extremely tight timeline, with just one week remaining before the submission ∂єα∂line for the 69th Grammy Awards, followed by the first-round voting and nominations in October and November, respectively.

Billboard reported that Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, said in an official statement: “It’s clear from our numerous conversations with many stakeholders over the past two weeks that, regardless of our intent and desire to be even more inclusive, there are some artists in this space who feel that this category isn’t representing the music they work so hard to create, in the way they wish... The management and Board are committed to working together to keep pace with that progress and ensure the musicians we intend to honor feel truly seen and heard by our actions".

Sources also tell that Mason and other Grammy executives have been in discussion with artists and execs representing K-pop, J-pop, C-pop, ιи∂ια and more. The Academy is convening its full Board and Awards &  Nominations Committee to work with members of and leaders from this  community to seek further advice on the category, as well as its process for introducing new categories and awards.

Analysts point out that the most notable aspect of this development is not the outcome itself, but the process behind it. The Grammys have traditionally handled the creation or modification of categories through internal procedures. For an organization like this to publicly acknowledge that it is considering a review just half a month after BTS announced that it would not participate is highly unusual. The reason is believed to be a combination of two pressures: forcing the new category to continue without its strongest potential contender could damage the awards’ credibility, while there are also concerns that the backlash could spread across the wider Asian music industry.

Meanwhile, online public opinion has viewed this as evidence of BTS’s market-recognized standing as global K-pop superstars. Discussions marveling at BTS’s influence have spread widely across social media following the Grammys’ latest announcement:

- BTS rejected the submissions and got grammys scrambling that they had to held a whole conference meeting but kpoppies said the category was not made for bts

- BTS Impact is insane. And I really want to thank 3x Grammy winner Ricky Kej for speaking up for himself and other Asians in support of BTS’s decision

- So Grammys had an emergency meeting for 2 weeks bcz of BTS, Armys and global media backlash. Brooo they're scared

- This proves they created this category specifically to exclude BTS from the main categories after Arirang's success

- They will forever be called scammy . After we discovery who are behind that award organization. I will never see that award show as a prestige award . BTS do not need them its the other way around.

- This dumb rule only being there for asian artists…. Thank god bts had the spine to stand up and now grammys cannot breathe, I know what u are 
@RecordingAcad

- This is yet another proof of what we’ve been saying. They rushed to create this category to give BTS a win and box them into one category while continuing to use them for views and engagement

- “There are some artists” why are they so scared to name drop Lmao, cuz no other artists had a problem with it or even spoke about it except BTS.

- Another example of bts being bigger than the program. I'm literally dying of laughter. I fcking knew it, anyone could see from a mile away why they made up this category. Now that BTS didn't submit, they're acting like they're reconsidering. Total fake *ss fake hypocrites.

- “There are some artists in this space” why they are so afraid to mention BTS’ name ijbol? they are first asian group and artists to ever speak about it and go angaist it. btw thanks to bts’ impact