Grammys CEO breaks silence on BTS’ boycott over new category

Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. has responded to BTS’ decision to withdraw from consideration for the 69th Grammy Awards over it’s newly introduced Best Asian Pop Music Performance category.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Mason said he was disappointed to learn that the K-pop supergroup had opted out of this year’s Grammy submission process but acknowledged the band’s right to make that choice.

“I am saddened to hear that BTS has chosen not to participate in the Grammy Awards process this year, but as a music creator, I understand and respect their decision,” he said.

Mason also addressed criticism surrounding the Recording Academy’s new Best Asian Pop Music Performance category, stressing that it was created to broaden recognition rather than separate artists by geography or language.

“The Asian Pop category was created to celebrate the depth, diversity and extraordinary growth of pop artistry coming out of Asia,” he said. “The spirit of this new category is to shine a dedicated spotlight on these important artists. More categories mean more artists’ work is recognised. It’s never to divide, but to expand who is recognised by our 15,000 Grammy voters.”

He further clarified that artists who submit music in genre-specific categories remain eligible for the Grammy Awards’ prestigious General Field honours, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year.

The statement comes a day after all seven BTS members – RM, Jin, Suga, j-hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook – announced they would not submit their latest album, Arirang, for Grammy consideration.

Although the group did not directly mention the Recording Academy’s new category, their reference to music being judged beyond “region or language” was widely interpreted as criticism of the newly introduced award for Asian pop performances.