HYBE breaks silence after BTS’ Grammys boycott

Shortly after BTS members RM, Jimin, Jin, Jungkook, J Hope, Suga and V issued an important announcement regarding their involvement in the upcoming Grammys, HYBE is speaking out.

The powerhouse behind the globally acclaimed K-pop boy band shared a statement of its own writing, “It is difficult to accept that this Grammy’s screening change was made when BTS is most likely to win the main prize.”

However, the company said, “It’s not a boycott at the company level.”

An official explained, “In the case of other artists, if they are willing to participate, they will proceed with the exhibition as scheduled.”

In the music industry, analysts suggest that BTS’s declaration could influence the moves of the other awards ceremonies, given that the four major U.S. music awards have recently all begun operating dedicated K-pop categories.

“BTS also thought about whether to participate until the last minute of this announcement, but they made this decision with the idea that a cautious move is necessary for the sake of the music industry and K-pop as a whole,” HYBE added.

The statement is widely interpreted as BTS taking a stand against the Grammys’ reported decision to bound K-pop acts into a separate category, rather than allowing them to compete solely in the broader general-field categories.

While other K-pop artists may still choose to submit their work, the Dynamitehitmakers’ decision signals what they see as a major issue affecting the industry as a whole.

It is highly believed that the group’s stance is an intended and powerful response to the categories changes and could encourage other artists to reconsider participating.

Notably, neither BTS nor HYBE has explicitly called for a boycott by other acts.

Additionally, fans had expected BTS to be strong contenders at the next Grammy Awards, making the reported boycott particularly significant.

their decision would mean the Recording Academy misses out on one of its biggest global acts and the attention and viewership that BTS’s participation has historically generated.