It feels like at this point, it could have been predicted that this would be one of the results, but hey who am I?

Disclaimer:

This doesn’t have a disclaimer. Do excuse the grammatical errors please. We do have somewhat of a disclaimer in the Uncomfy Cushions description. Long article short, if you don’t want to hear heavily opinionated topics, we have a lot of other content on this blog we would love for you to check out! We also want to hear your opinions so please sound off in the comments!

I also want to emphasize that I am not shading this award show or any others. And since I cannot be inside over everyone’s mind, I cannot speak for anyone apart of this situation. Everything I say is a matter of opinion. And the conclusions I draw are based off of the information given to us.

If anyone would like to clarify anything, drop it in the comments or contact us! We would love to hear your opionion.

So, if you haven’t seen the not so “drama” drama, the Grammy’s is getting some heat due to BTS deciding not to submit this year. If you don’t know BTS…you might be under a rock. However, I think even the bikini bottom knows who BTS is. 

BTS is a 7 member “pop” from South Korea. At least that’s a very basic description of them. I put the “Pop’ in quotations for a reason. A lot of people like to just put them as Kpop and though they do a lot in the pop category, they didn’t start as a pop group. Their beginnings had a lot of Hip hop influence in the sound and identity of the group. Within their recent album we got a BTS 2.0 version of this identity. With the group recognizing it as well (so if you disagree, argue with a wall). BTS has many sides that are not just in pop categories. With them going super global around the world. 

Their music and many others have broken barriers and gathered unlikely people together. I say “music is universal” for a reason. Their music has a very diverse demographic of listeners and stans combined. With this being said, we can jump into the controversy. I mentioned it recently in a previous article. Basically, BTS is not submitting to the Grammy’s this year. So that means no nomination and no consideration to win a Grammy. They took to their personal Instagram stories to mention this and not the collective BTS official page which was really standing on business.

They are not the first artists who decided to skip an award show, I remember seeing this a long time ago with the Smith family in 2016. I remember it like it was yesterday (it’s been 10 years!). It was shocking. Oh and I learned Will Smith (and DJ Jazzy Jeff) has done this before in 1989 at the Grammy’s due to them not broadcasting the rap category. So this is not a strange thing to do, just a bold move when someone finally speaks out. BTS did not say it was a “boycott” they said they are skipping out on submitting. Which we can simplify it as a boycott of sorts, but that was not the wording.

We actually got an update today with a response from the Grammy’s. Basically (paraphrasing here) saying they are sad about BTS not participating and the category was not meant to do the things BTS felt they were doing. Writing: 

I just want to dissect this a bit more with the audience POV. I am going to use BTS as an example just because we are on the topic right now. BTS attended the award show in 2019, 2020 and 2022. One year they were nominated. The time before, they presented an award as the first Korean artist to do so, and did a collab stage the following year with Lil Nas X. I was very much present for these and even them just presenting that award to a very deserving artist- HER (Check her out! No pun intended), filled my heart.  

They recorded themselves being nominated, it was a historic moment for Kpop fans and BTS ARMY together. It was a milestone. But as time went on and we saw that it felt like (not claiming it is), they were being used to add more viewers, it was upsetting. It felt like a waste of time watching poorly written jokes and camera time. To be honest, the song that won, it was very qualified. I still enjoy this song personally. And there’s no hate for any artist. But it does feel like you nominated them, just to get ARMY watching.

So now I will touch on the part of the statement that says: “submitting music in a genre category…does not exclude an artist from also submitting and being considered in the general field categories…”. Also restating by saying “An artist can absolutely pursue both”. The genre categories mentioned as an example was: Asian Pop, Jazz, and Country. And the “General field Categories mentioned were: Record of the year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year”. We will focus on Asian Pop because this was something many people predicted to be a response to BTS’ newly released album and comeback. Not saying this is true, but it was ironic timing many have claimed. 

Looking at the Chief’s response, it was very well written, and I appreciate a quick response as this has been explosive over the day it has been announced. It could not have been easy to give this statement, especially with so many people watching (and waiting to tear it apart). I mean, ARMY is infuriated. Not that it matters all the time as you can’t please everyone. But I have to say, this was a bold move. 

Here’s why I cannot personally buy it. The problem is…time after time, we have seen that tv is losing views. People do what they can to spike views. The ones deserving of certain awards do not earn them. We saw this with the cinematic masterpiece ‘Sinners’ as well. They got snubbed when everyone else agreed they should have won. Now this isn’t facts, but opinion. However, time after time we see the same assumed story. They don’t protect the art and artist, but the opinion of the popular. And protecting the norms pushed onto us by the media.

BTS is once again paving the way. Proving an award does not define success. This is obvious to someone who has been working their butts off for so long, but many may not understand that yet. Success is your growth; success is you showing up for yourself every time. And standing up for what you believe in. Their response about wanting their music to be loved “for what it is” and not “being categorized by region or language” was a statement that will be quoted for now on.

It could seem like a career killer for many. But not them. They know the strength of the BTS Army. They know the traction they have in this industry. And this move can motivate many others to reflect on what they want their legacy to be. Again, an award does not define success. A title doesn’t mean anything. What are your colors? Who are you? What do you stand for? That’s motivational.

Again, this is not bashing the Grammys. It’s not just them, it’s majority of the big award shows. We glamourize and make our goal. Uncomfy Cushion will make a article about how us humans manage success (the popular way).

It does suck for others though because they can either submit and hope to be considered elsewhere or they can skip out too. But what happens when this opportunity is once in a lifetime. You don’t have the popularity, money, or status of BTS? And most importantly the ride or die fanbase like the BTS ARMY? It can be scary. But I have to say, you must “stand on business”. Not their business, but on what you believe is right for you and the future artists looking up to you. And the youth who need motivation to keep going and stand up for themselves in any given situation. If anyone was to start, it had to be BTS. 

Oh, and some more alleged tea I saw across my feed. Allegedly, a couple of BTS’ performances at the Grammy’s were removed from their official page. Is this a response? No one knows. If this is true, I mean…that’s excessive. I just hope for a conversation to be had between artists and programs. And include us audiences as well. It’s really sad to see.

And who knows, maybe BTS and Grammy’s will come back together. Even if not, I respect their decision either way.

If you have some more time on your hands, check out my previous article on Award show categories! And leave your thoughts on the topic!

UNCOMFY CUSHION: Let’s talk award categories