Stray Kids Join BTS in Boycotting 2027 Grammy Submissions

Stray Kids have not submitted their latest project, This & That, for consideration at the 2027 Grammy Awards. JYP Entertainment confirmed to Variety that the eight-member group let the eligibility period expire on Aug. 28 — just two weeks after the EP's release — without taking action.

With that, Stray Kids join BTS in opting out of the upcoming ceremony, which is set to include the first presentation of the Best Asian Pop Music Performance category. BTS announced their own decision not to participate in July, releasing a statement that expressed their “hope that music can be heard and loved by itself rather than being divided by region or language.”

The Recording Academy has faced pushback over the new pop subsection, which recognizes “artistic excellence in Asian pop music performances originating from or widely recognized within Asian markets.” CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said this week that after weeks of “conducting listening sessions” and being “in dialogue with leaders of the Asian music community,” the Academy decided to move forward with the category.

The Academy claimed “the loudest feedback we heard was from people who were enthusiastic supporters of the category” — feedback that evidently did not come from Stray Kids or BTS, the genre's two highest-profile holdouts.

Representatives for Stray Kids did not immediately return Rolling Stone's request for comment on the decision. In a parallel development, weeks after the Recording Academy expanded its categories to include Best Asian Pop Music Performance, JYP Entertainment announced that all eight members of Stray Kids and all seven members of Twice were selected to join the Grammys' voting body, according to the Korea Times.

Stray Kids have never been nominated in any Grammy category, despite their standing as a K-pop mainstay. At an August press conference, the group was asked whether they planned to participate in the 2027 Grammy season. Their answer focused on the music.

“We've never once set out to make an album chasing a particular award or record,” Seungmin said. “When we talk about the music or performances we love, it doesn't come from how we're seen from the outside — it comes from what's inside us as we build a stage or write lyrics. It's less about outside expectations around awards and more about capturing the sound and story we want to tell.”

Pressed on the Best Asian Pop Music Performance category itself, Seungmin struck a more diplomatic note. “I feel so thankful that K-pop, as a genre, is loved this much around the world,” he said. “It makes me realize all over again just how powerful music can be.”

The double absence sets up an awkward debut for the category in 2027: the Academy's new award for Asian pop will launch without the genre's biggest group — and now, without one of its fastest-rising ones either.