Stray Kids Join BTS in Sitting Out Grammy Awards

Stray Kids have opted out of the 69th Grammy Awards race entirely, JYP Entertainment said Friday, confirming that no music from the group was entered before the Aug. 21 deadline. The agency declined to give a reason for the decision and did not say whether the Recording Academy's newly introduced Asian Pop category influenced the move. The eight-member act, formed through a 2017 survival show and known for writing and producing much of their own material, built a worldwide following with singles including "God's Menu" and "Thunderous."

Grammy rules are strict on this point: a recording that is never submitted cannot show up on nomination ballots or compete for a trophy. What gives the situation extra weight is that all eight members — Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin and I.N — were invited this year to join the Recording Academy as voting members, a privilege that lets them help select nominees and winners even as their own work stays out of the running. The Academy's electorate, roughly 12,000 strong, has been deliberately reshaped in recent years to bring in younger and more internationally based voters, a shift that makes the members' new voting status a notable symbol of K-pop's growing institutional clout.

Speaking at an Aug. 6 press event in Seoul for their 10th EP, "This & That," the members avoided direct answers on their Grammy intentions. When the Asian Pop category came up, Seungmin redirected the conversation toward the group's creative ambitions rather than external validation, and Hyunjin said the band has never pursued awards or chart rankings since debuting, describing fan happiness as the truest measure of success. The EP, released in early August, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's World Albums chart. Analysts point out that skipping the submission process costs artists little when their income depends far more on streaming and touring fueled by devoted fandoms than on awards season.

BTS set the precedent in July, announcing it would withhold its music from the 69th Grammys only weeks after the Academy unveiled the Asian Pop field. "We have decided not to submit for Grammy consideration this year," the members posted on their individual Instagram accounts. "We hope our music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language. We thank Army and everyone who has always stood by us." Despite earning five nominations over their career, BTS has yet to take home a Grammy. The group's global rise, capped by chart-topping singles like "Dynamite," made them the first K-pop act to crack major Grammy categories, so their withdrawal carries symbolic weight for the entire industry.

Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said Thursday that the Asian Pop category will move forward for 2027 following weeks of listening sessions with Asian music community leaders. Mason acknowledged the feedback mixed sharp criticism with enthusiastic support, but insisted that backing from fellow creators carried the most weight. "We understand this conclusion will not satisfy everyone, and that never feels good," he said. "But at the same time, we are confident it's the right conclusion for the music community overall." The Academy called first-year submission numbers for the category robust. The dispute mirrors a decades-old complaint that genre-specific Grammy fields can confine artists rather than celebrate them — a criticism long directed at the Latin Grammys, which were established in 2000 and have faced similar accusations of ghettoizing Spanish-language music. K-pop's brightest Grammy moment came earlier this year, when "Golden," from the animated film "KPop Demon Hunters" and performed by EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami of the fictional group Huntr/x, won best song written for visual media but fell short in the best song category. Nominees for the 69th Grammys will be revealed Nov. 16, with the ceremony scheduled for Feb. 7, 2027.