The Recording Academy wanted to welcome Asian pop onto its stage, but the world’s biggest acts are refusing to walk through the door. Stray Kids, the South Korean eight-piece that has notched nine Number One albums on the US Billboard charts, have formally declined to submit their music for the 2027 Grammy Awards.
Their agency, JYP Entertainment, confirmed the move with blunt economy. “It is true that they did not submit an entry,” the company stated to domestic media, choosing not to elaborate further.
The boycott lands like a shockwave because it directly mirrors the stance taken by BTS. In July, the pop titans withdrew their comeback album Arirang from contention, stating clearly that they wanted their work “heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language.”
Now, with Stray Kids joining the walkout, the Grammys face the launch of their brand-new Best Asian Pop Music Performance trophy without the two acts that pack American stadiums and dominate global streaming metrics.
Voting Power Without The Submissions
The decision carries unusual institutional irony. Earlier this year, all eight members of Stray Kids—Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, and I.N—joined the Recording Academy as formal voting members alongside BTS.
They hold the power to decide who takes home hardware across the general field, yet they refused to put their own catalogue on the ballot before the 21 August deadline closed.
Read more: How the New Grammys Asian Pop Category Blocks Real Inclusion
The silence spoke volumes when the band met the press in Seoul for their tenth mini-album, This & That. Questioned directly about their awards outlook, the members brushed off industry accolades.
“We have never once set award results or records as our goal,” singer Hwang Hyun-jin explained to reporters. “Our top priority is for our fans to be happy and satisfied.”
That fan base has transformed them into a festival-headlining colossus. In 2026 alone, Stray Kids topped the bill at New York’s Governors Ball alongside Lorde and A$AP Rocky and took the main stage at Rock in Rio. In total album sales across Korea and Japan, they sit past forty million copies. In America, only The Beatles have scored more consecutive Number One debuts.
The Problem With Genre Walls
The controversy centres on how American music institutions handle foreign-language giants. When the Recording Academy announced the Asian Pop category in June, leadership framed it as an embrace of “artistic excellence” from overseas markets.
Critics heard an echo of the Latin Grammy debate, where Spanish-language titans routinely found themselves pushed out of Album and Record of the Year and relegated to regional sub-categories.
The Academy’s eligibility guidelines stoked further irritation by demanding that nominated songs feature a “meaningful use” of an Asian language. The clause disqualified major English-language releases while leaving artists trapped between two competing standards.
Recording Academy chief executive Harvey Mason Jr. attempted to steady the waters by confirming that the category will debut on schedule at the 69th annual ceremony.
Read more: Recording Academy Pushes Ahead With Asian Pop Grammy Category Despite Boycott From BTS
“Over the past several weeks the Academy has been conducting listening sessions and have been in dialogue with leaders of the Asian music community,” Mason said. “We heard candid feedback from people in our community who don’t support the continuation of this category. We understand this conclusion will not satisfy everyone, and that never feels good. But at the same time, we are confident it’s the right conclusion for the music community overall.”
The pushback is spreading across peer groups. Kim Hong-joong, leader of the boyband Ateez, backed the stance in a recent interview.
“I saw the many articles and I’d love to think about that too,” Hongjoong said. “I’m not sure because no one can know about the real reason they tried to make that title. But it seems like, for me… I think I agree a little with what BTS did. Winning a Grammy is a dream, but music has no boundary.”
When the Academy reveals its nominations in November, the newly created category will have to stand on its own without the genre’s defining heavyweights.
