Following BTS's decision to refuse submissions for the 69th Grammy Awards, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. issued a statement just a day later, though the controversy shows signs of intensifying rather than subsiding.
The Grammys posted a statement in the name of CEO Mason Jr. via official social media channels on the morning of the 30th (Korea Standard Time).
He stated, "I was saddened to hear the news that BTS decided not to submit for this year's Grammy Awards. However, as someone who makes music, I understand and respect their decision."
Regarding the newly established "Best Asian Music Performance" category, which sparked controversy, he explained, "It was created to celebrate the depth, diversity, and incredible growth of pop music coming out of Asia." He added, "This is not to segregate artists, but to expand the recognition awarded by the 1,500 Grammy voting members." He further noted, "Submitting music to genre categories like Asian pop, jazz, or country does not restrict simultaneous submission and consideration in general field categories."
Previously, the seven members of BTS announced through personal social media accounts on the 29th, "We have decided not to submit to the Grammys this year," and added, "We hope that music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being categorized by region or language."
Despite sweeping both the Billboard main single and album charts in the United States with their 5th full-length album "Arirang" released in March, BTS refused Grammy submissions. This is widely interpreted as a de facto protest against the Grammys' announcement last month creating the "Best Asian Music Performance" category, which lumps together music from Asian regions such as Korea, China, and Japan.
However, criticisms point out that the Grammy response missed the core of the controversy. One online community user responded to the news by asking, "They claim it's a genre and not a division by region or race, but since when is Asian pop a genre?" Another opinion stated, "If that made sense, they should break down awards by continent for Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa, but they aren't doing that, are they?" This highlights a fairness issue, noting that Western genres like rock, pop, and country are categorized by musical characteristics rather than regions, while only Asian music is lumped together on a continental scale.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)