Stray Kids Won't Enter the Grammys, and All 8 Members Can Vote in Them

JYP Entertainment confirmed on October 2 that Stray Kids will not submit any work for the 69th Grammy Awards, making them the second major K-pop act to pass on the ceremony's newly created Best Asian Pop Music Performance category. All eight members of the group were inducted as Recording Academy voting members in July, meaning they can help pick the winners but have chosen to stay out of the running themselves.

The timing lands hard. Billboard had spotlighted Stray Kids just a day earlier as one of the frontrunners for the new category, pointing to their Billboard 200 number-one album title track This & That and calling fan tribute track STAY a compelling submission. The group declined anyway.

The statement that wasn't

Stray Kids haven't issued a formal boycott declaration the way BTS did in July, when the group stated plainly that they wanted their music heard "as music itself, not divided by region or language." But member Hyunjin offered a signal back in August at a press event for the This & That album release: "Not once have we set winning awards as our goal. Our biggest goal and dream is for fans to feel satisfied and share joy with the music we make."

That's a soft no with a clear direction.

Grammy's Asian Pop category isn't going anywhere

The Recording Academy isn't budging. CEO Harvey Mason Jr. released a statement on October 1 saying the category will proceed as planned despite pushback from artists and industry figures across K-pop, J-pop, C-pop, and Indian music communities. "Over the past few weeks, the Academy has had the opportunity to listen and speak with leaders in the Asian music community," Mason said, adding that voices in support of the category outnumbered those opposed. "We know this outcome won't be satisfying to everyone... but we are confident this is the right decision for the music industry as a whole."

The category was announced in June and covers pop performances originating from or widely associated with Asian markets, including Korean, Japanese, and Chinese pop. Eligibility requires meaningful use of at least one Asian language; fully English-language tracks are not eligible. Nationality and ethnicity are not factors, the genre style is what qualifies a submission.

Criticism of the category has been consistent since launch: the argument is that separating Asian music into its own bracket keeps it out of main-category competition, a structural ceiling dressed up as recognition. The Academy said it reviewed the decision in August after significant industry pressure, consulting HYBE and other major players, but ultimately held its position.

With BTS and Stray Kids both out, the two most prominent K-pop acts globally will have no stake in the category built partly with them in mind. Grammy nominees for the 69th ceremony are announced November 17. The show takes place February 7 in Los Angeles.