Two of K-pop’s largest groups will be absent from the 2027 Grammy competition after Stray Kids joined BTS in submitting no music for consideration, just as the Recording Academy confirmed that its contested Best Asian Pop Music Performance category will proceed.

JYP Entertainment confirmed that Stray Kids filed no entries before the Aug. 21 deadline, according to Variety. Because Grammy consideration begins with a formal submission, the decision removes the group’s eligible releases from nomination ballots for the 69th awards.

The agency offered no reason and did not say whether the new category influenced the decision. That distinction matters: BTS explicitly connected its withdrawal to concerns about dividing music by geography or language, while Stray Kids has confirmed only that it did not enter. KBS World reported the second absence Saturday, but the evidence does not establish that both groups made the same calculation.

What the new category requires

The Recording Academy’s official rulebook defines Asian pop as contemporary popular music originating from or widely recognized in Asian markets, including K-pop, J-pop and C-pop. Eligible recordings must use one or more Asian languages in a meaningful way; isolated words or brief phrases do not qualify.

Music performed entirely in English is excluded from the new category but remains eligible elsewhere. The rules say musical style—not an artist’s ethnicity or nationality—controls eligibility, and recordings from Asia or its diaspora that do not fit the category can be entered in other appropriate fields.

The Grammy update center also states that only one version of a recording may compete in a performance category in the same year. An artist cannot enter one version in a general performance category and a different Asian-language version of the same song in Asian Pop.

Those details explain both sides of the dispute. The Academy presents the award as recognition for a global genre with distinct musical and performance traditions. Critics see a risk that globally successful Asian acts could be steered toward a region-labeled category even when their music competes directly with mainstream pop.

The language test makes the boundary especially consequential. A Korean, Japanese or Chinese act releasing an English-only song cannot compete for Asian Pop on identity alone, while a qualifying multilingual performance can. At the same time, eligibility outside the new category does not guarantee that voting members will place an Asian act in the broader pop or general fields. The controversy is therefore about both written access and how voters use the categories in practice.

BTS made its objection explicit

BTS announced in July that it would submit nothing for the 2027 ceremony. The group said it wanted its music evaluated without being divided by region or language. Reuters reported that this was the first time BTS had opted out of the Grammy process.

Recording Academy chief executive Harvey Mason Jr. responded that the category was intended to broaden recognition, not separate artists. He emphasized that entries in genre categories can also compete in the general field—Record, Album and Song of the Year—when eligible.

In an Academy interview, Mason described Asian pop as a sustained global force and said the award reflects the scale and distinct identity of K-pop, J-pop and Mandopop. After further consultations with Asian music figures, the organization kept the category and said it had received a robust number of first-year submissions, though it did not publish a total.

A consequential absence, not a complete rejection

Stray Kids’ non-submission is notable because all eight members were invited this year to become Recording Academy voting members. They can participate in selecting nominees and winners even though their own work is not in contention. At an August press event, members avoided committing to a Grammy strategy and emphasized creative goals and fan response over awards.

The absence of BTS and Stray Kids removes two highly visible potential contenders, but it does not show that the wider Asian music industry has abandoned the category. Other artists and labels submitted entries, and nominations will reveal whether the first ballot represents multiple countries, languages and pop traditions rather than functioning primarily as a K-pop prize.

It also limits what can be concluded from this year’s results. If another Asian act wins, that outcome will demonstrate recognition for that recording, but it will not answer whether BTS or Stray Kids would have been nominated—or whether either group might return in a later cycle. Non-submission is different from losing a vote because the work never reaches the screening ballot.

The dispute also extends beyond one trophy. The Grammys are attempting to create more room for a global market while preserving the premise that the biggest releases can compete across borders in the general field. A dedicated category can increase the number of recognized artists, yet it can also become a ceiling if voters treat it as the default destination for Asian acts.

Nominations are scheduled for Nov. 16, and the ceremony is set for Feb. 7, 2027. Until then, the fairest reading is narrower than the word “boycott” suggests: BTS rejected the process for a stated reason; Stray Kids submitted nothing and has not publicly explained why. Together, their decisions ensure the Academy’s new category will be judged as much by who is missing as by who is nominated.