For years, BTS spoke openly of the Grammys as a goal. On Wednesday, the group walked away from them at the very moment it appeared likeliest to finally win. In a joint statement posted to their individual Instagram accounts Wednesday, the seven BTS members said they have decided not to submit anything to the Grammys this year, adding that they hope music "can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language." The announcement came just over a month after the Recording Academy unveiled five new categories for the 69th Grammy Awards, among them Best Asian Pop Music Performance, a prize for performances rooted in Asian markets that make "meaningful use" of one or more Asian languages. The statement did not name the category, but has been widely read as a response to it. The decision carries the weight of history. Between 2021 and 2023, BTS collected five Grammy nominations without a win for "Dynamite," "Butter," "My Universe" or "Yet to Come" and the group's credited work on Coldplay's "Music of the Spheres." Each cycle, the members described the Grammys as