Grammy voting opens Oct 12 as BTS and Stray Kids sit out new Asian pop award

BTS and Stray Kids will not put themselves forward for the Grammy Awards' new best Asian pop music performance category. Recording Academy chief executive Harvey Mason Jr. confirmed the decision in an interview with Billboard conducted over Zoom on Wednesday, Oct. 7.

First-round voting for the 69th annual Grammy Awards opens on Monday, Oct. 12. It runs through Oct. 22. That round turns the year's entries into nominees.

The new category was one of five added by the Academy in June. The organisation will present 100 awards on Feb. 7, the highest number since 2011.

The Feb. 7 show is the 69th annual Grammy Awards. It will air and stream on ABC, Disney+ and Hulu after a 54-year run on CBS. Trevor Noah has bowed out as host after six years.

Mason has led the Academy since May 2021, after a 16-month run as interim chief executive. He spoke to Billboard days before voting opens, with the new categories, the voter pool and the broadcast move all in discussion.

The Academy invited 4,000 people in its largest-ever new member class. Of those, 3,100 accepted, including 2,300 voting members. Voting members are the working musicians, songwriters, producers and engineers who decide the awards.

The class also includes more than 800 professional non-voting members, people who work in music but do not vote. Of the new voting members, 33% are women, 53% are people of color and 54% are aged 39 or under.

The Asian pop category stirred controversy after its June announcement. Mason had earlier suggested it was being reconsidered, according to a Korea Herald report on Oct. 2. The Academy had said the award would still be presented at the 2027 show, Rolling Stone reported on Oct. 1.

For fans, this means the new award will go ahead without two of the acts most associated with it. BTS and Stray Kids can still be part of the wider Grammy ballot. Their choice leaves the first best Asian pop race to a different field.