BTS snubbed at the grammys...again?
- It's Hannah
- Nov 29, 2021
- 4 min read
These days, everyone knows BTS. They've topped charts, won numerous awards, and the boys are just as likable as the music and message they convey of self-love and healing. BTS is clearly dominating the western world's music industry, but are they getting the recognition they deserve? That answer is more than obvious.
After a year of consistently topping the charts on this year's Billboard Hot 100, BTS only received one Grammy nomination for the 2022 Grammy Awards.
But are we surprised? Definitely not.
Let's Take It Back
Last year, the South Korean boy band and ARMY — the group's fanbase name — held high hopes when BTS' chart-topping "Dynamite" was nominated in the pop duo/group performance category for the 2021 Grammy Awards. However, on March 15th, both the group and fanbase had quite the letdown when Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande's "Rain on Me" took home the award instead.
Immediately, ARMY took to their socials to express their upsets while the boys stayed active and cheerful on Weverse to comfort their fans about the loss.
After the events of the night, BTS even made a VLIVE stream showing a "BTS Grammy Nominees" cake as the boys took their time to express their thanks to ARMY for all the support.
The stream was all genuine love and thankfulness for fans, but ARMY also couldn't help but notice the alternative "BTS Grammy Winners" cake seen in background shots and the slightly somber tone in the boys' voices.
There was one thing for sure.
After a record-breaking year in 2020, BTS was undeniably snubbed at the 2021 Grammys.
So what might we expect from their nomination this year?
What's New this Year?
Much like last year, BTS received a sole nomination for the 2022 Grammy Awards in the pop duo/group performance category.
In this year's Grammys announcement, the group's English track "Butter" is the nominee alongside other music hits this year, including Coldplay’s “Higher Power,” Doja Cat and SZA’s “Kiss Me More,” Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga's “I Get a Kick Out of You,” and Justin Bieber and Benny Blanco’s “Lonely."
Evidently, 2021 was quite the year for BTS.
The group released three No. 1 singles (Billboard Hot 100 Chart) this year — including the nominee "Butter," "Permission to Dance," and their collaboration with Coldplay, "My Universe."
Yet despite this and the fact that "Butter" remained No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart for an astonishing 10 weeks, the global pop sensation received only one nomination for the 2022 Grammy Awards.
Besides best pop duo/group performance, the group actually applied to a number of other categories for Grammy nominee consideration.
Of these was the coveted record of the year and song of the year, but last Tuesday's announcements made it clear that BTS was excluded from those categories — even though their single "Butter" was the longest-running number one hit on the 2021 charts.
the right call?
For BTS, the Grammys snub actually comes days following their biggest western award show win this year.
At the fan-voted American Music Awards (AMAs) last Sunday, BTS dominated their western competitors and took home several prize awards. Evidently, they were the most-awarded artists of the night.
Not only did the septet secure the prize for pop group of the year, but "Butter" also won the award for pop song of the year.
To top it all off, BTS became the AMA's very first Asian group to take home the show's highest honor: artist of the year.
While accepting the AMA award for artist of the year, BTS' leader RM had this to say.
“Nobody could have ever bet on the odds of us standing here receiving this award, except y’all, ARMY...Seven boys from Korea, united by a love for music. ... This whole thing is a miracle.”
- BTS' RM, speech at 2021 AMAs
The Reality of It All
For ARMY, it actually wasn't a "miracle" that BTS took home the AMA's top prize.
These past few years, BTS have been making immense strides in the western music industry: breaking a number of long standing music records and consistently making new ones.
Their sole Grammy nomination this year and last year was an obvious snub and represents a lack of recognition [from the Recording Academy] of the Korean group's milestone accomplishments and achievements in the western music world.
So should we hold out our hopes for a secured nomination win at the 2022 Grammy Awards?
It's a bit hard to say.
In the last year or so, the pandemic has allowed the boys to gain an immense fanbase following and their various song debuts at No. 1 have definitely not gone unnoticed by the Recording Academy.
Even more, the Academy has also undergone changes this year.
In efforts to address criticism from artists and other music industry creatives for their lack of diversity and transparency — especially following last year's snubs — the Academy has made mention of implementing drastic changes.
To increase their diversity, the Recording Academy has invited more than 2,700 music creators to join the exclusive organization. Of this year's class invitees, demographics are as follows: 48% are female, 32% are Black, 13% are Hispanic or Latino, and 4% are Asian or Pacific Islander.
Under guidance of CEO Harvey Mason Jr, the organization has also appointed two co-presidents as part of efforts to restructure their leadership.
The Recording Academy even modified some of their voting categories and eliminated the use of anonymous review committees — which previously determined the nominations for a number of award categories. Now, they will be determined by a majority, peer-to-peer vote among the organization's 12,000-plus voting members.
That said, will these Academy changes and the group's groundbreaking achievements actually spell out a victory at the 2022 Grammy Awards for foreign act BTS?
Well, we can only hope BTS get the Academy recognition they so deserve.
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