Stray Kids Join BTS in 2027 Grammys Boycott

Stray Kids confirmed they submitted nothing for the 2027 Grammys, joining BTS in protest of the new Best Asian Pop category.

On October 2, JYP Entertainment confirmed to outlets including Billboard, the BBC and Variety that Stray Kids did not submit any music for consideration at the 69th Grammy Awards, stating simply: "Stray Kids did not submit for the Grammys." According to Variety, as reported by Rolling Stone, the eight-piece group allowed the eligibility window — which closed on August 28, just two weeks after their EP 'This & That' was released — to pass without submitting anything. The timing was striking: the confirmation came less than a day after the Recording Academy announced on October 1 that its new Best Asian Pop Music Performance category would proceed at the 2027 ceremony as planned. Stray Kids had been widely seen as a leading contender for that very award, making the withdrawal a pointed gesture rather than a passive skip.

The boycott carries unusual weight because Stray Kids are not outsiders to the Grammy process. According to the BBC and corroborated by Rolling Stone, all eight members were granted Recording Academy voting privileges earlier this year, meaning they are formally withholding their own catalog while holding votes inside the institution. The BBC notes the group has scored nine Billboard 200 number-one albums — a total among groups second only to The Beatles — and recently headlined Rock In Rio and New York's Governors Ball. Members had also dodged direct questions about the awards before, with Hwang Hyun-jin saying at an August press conference that the group had "never once set award results or records as our goal." A group this commercially dominant in the US choosing zero submissions is, as the BBC put it, a major blow to the Academy.

The dispute centers on the Best Asian Pop Music Performance category announced by the Recording Academy in June 2026, recognizing "artistic excellence in Asian pop music performances originating from or widely recognized within Asian markets." Critics fear such categories ghettoize genres like K-pop and J-pop, segregating Asian artists from the general field of Album, Record and Song of the Year. Billboard reports Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. has argued the opposite — that submitting in genre categories does not bar artists from general categories, and that the award exists "to shine a dedicated spotlight," never "to divide." After listening sessions and a virtual call in early September with more than 80 artists and executives from the Asian music community, Mason confirmed the category would go ahead, saying the loudest feedback came from enthusiastic supporters and acknowledging the outcome "will not satisfy everyone."

BTS set the precedent in July, announcing via a joint Instagram message that they would not submit work to the 69th Grammy Awards, stating: "We hope music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language." BTS previously earned five Grammy nominations and performed at the ceremony without winning. A further paradox fuels the anger: per the BBC, the category requires "meaningful use" of one or more Asian languages, which would disqualify the primarily English-language releases of BTS and Blackpink — the two most recognisable Korean acts in America — from the award meant to represent them. Adding context, the BBC draws comparisons to debates over Latin Grammy categories, noting Bad Bunny's 'Debí Tirar Más Fotos' became the first Spanish-language album to win Album of the Year, challenging the very segregation artists fear.

According to Clarin, all eight Stray Kids members and all seven BTS members hold Academy voting seats — 15 voting members deliberately withholding their catalog from an awards process they can vote in, which the outlet calls a historic breach between the Academy and top creators. The BBC adds that ATEEZ leader Kim Hong-joon (Hongjoong) told Variety he was impressed by BTS's stance, saying he agrees "a little" with what the group did and would love to think about doing the same. Korea JoongAng Daily reports attention is now turning to whether other K-pop acts will follow, while Billboard notes Stray Kids' recent run — two Billboard 200 chart-toppers in the past year with 'DO IT' and 'THIS & THAT,' plus a Hot 100 entry at No. 38 — shows what the Academy is forfeiting. Mason Jr. said the Academy will keep striving to honour music from Asia.

The full scope of the protest becomes visible when Grammy nominations are revealed on December 10, 2026. Because submissions closed on August 28, outside observers cannot verify which other acts declined to enter — the nomination list will show who chose to participate in the new category and who stayed away. Korea JoongAng Daily notes Stray Kids had been widely seen as a strong contender for Best Asian Pop Music Performance, so their absence from the shortlist would be the clearest public confirmation of the boycott's reach. The 2027 ceremony itself is set for February 7. Meanwhile, Mason Jr.'s statement that the Academy will "continue to have discussions" over the award leaves open the possibility of revisions, even as the category proceeds as planned for now.