Stray Kids Join BTS in Skipping the 2027 Grammys Over New Asian Pop Category

Stray Kids did not submit music for the 2027 Grammy Awards. JYP Entertainment confirmed it in a one-line statement Friday, October 2: "Stray Kids did not submit for the Grammys."

That makes two of K-pop's biggest acts now boycotting the show. BTS announced in July it would withhold all of its music from Grammy consideration. Stray Kids didn't make a show of it. According to Variety, the group simply let the August 28 eligibility deadline pass on their EP This & That, released two weeks earlier, without entering anything.

What started the fight

The Recording Academy announced a new category in June called Best Asian Pop Music Performance, meant to recognize "artistic excellence in Asian pop music performances originating from or widely recognized within Asian markets." The category followed years of lobbying and came shortly after "Golden," from the animated film K-pop Demon Hunters, became the first K-pop song to win a Grammy, according to BBC.

Critics, including artists who'd otherwise be the category's biggest beneficiaries, say it does the opposite of honoring them. BTS put it plainly in its July statement: "We hope that music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language."

Clarín reported a specific technical complaint fueling the backlash. The category requires "meaningful use of one or more Asian languages," which means major English-language hits from Asian artists, including past BTS and Blackpink songs, wouldn't even qualify for the award supposedly built to recognize them.

The Academy's response

Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said the organization held listening sessions with the Asian music community over the following weeks. Billboard reported one virtual call in early September brought together more than 80 artists, executives, and stakeholders with Academy trustees and governors to review the category.

On Thursday, October 1, Mason confirmed the Academy would move forward with the category at the 69th Grammy Awards anyway. "We heard candid feedback from people in our community who don't support the continuation of this category," he said in a statement carried by BBC, Billboard, and Rolling Stone. "But by far, the loudest feedback we heard was from people who were enthusiastic supporters of the category, fellow music creators expressing their encouragement for keeping it."

Mason acknowledged the decision "will not satisfy everyone" but said the Academy would keep talking about how the award develops. When BTS first announced its boycott in July, Mason said he was "saddened" but respected the decision, adding that submitting to a genre category doesn't block an artist from also being considered in the general field, according to Billboard.

The Academy's strongest defense is this: more categories mean more artists get recognized, not fewer. Mason has repeatedly framed the Asian pop award as additive, not a replacement for a shot at Album, Record, or Song of the Year.

Why it stings more this time

Stray Kids aren't a fringe act gambling with a snub. The group has racked up nine number-one albums on the Billboard 200, trailing only the Beatles. They've never been nominated for a Grammy before, and the new category looked tailor-made for them to finally break through. Both Stray Kids and labelmates Twice were also named to the Recording Academy's voting body this year, according to Korea Times as cited by Rolling Stone, meaning Stray Kids' own members had a vote in whether to keep the category they're now boycotting.

Not every Stray Kids member has framed this as pure protest. At an August press conference, before the group's decision became public, member Seungmin downplayed awards chasing altogether: "We've never once set out to make an album chasing a particular award or record." Fellow member Hwang Hyun-jin said the same at a different briefing: "Our top priority is for our fans to be happy and satisfied." JYP has not elaborated further on the record, and Billboard noted the label didn't explain the decision beyond its one-sentence confirmation.

What's unresolved

Whether other K-pop or J-pop acts follow BTS and Stray Kids out the door is the open question heading into the 69th ceremony. Mk.co.kr noted the Academy itself has said it will "consider whether to overhaul the process for developing new award categories" going forward, even while keeping this one intact for 2027. No specific timeline for that review has been announced. The Recording Academy has not said whether losing its two biggest commercial draws in the genre changes its calculus before next year's nominations are finalized.