Sort of.
So here’s the deal. The artist behind the Love Yourself: Tear album is being nominated for Best Recording Package. Which is not one of the below categories BigHit entered BTS for Grammy nomination consideration:
- Album of the Year
- Pop Album
- Song of the Year
- Record of the Year
- Pop Duo/Group Performance
- Music Video.
To be honest, I hadn’t had any hopes of BTS getting a nomination at all. There were many articles already explaining how BTS would have little chance with Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Record of the Year – mostly due to Grammy’s being snobs to boy bands in general. There were some hope, including from yours truly, BTS would nab either Pop Duo/Group Performance and Pop Album. The one category which stood out to be the best possibility was Music Video. Still… I knew it was going to be tough.
Where does this leave us? Well… first of all, this is really just my personal opinion and I will admit when it comes to The Grammy’s, I am biased. I’ve been following The Grammy’s for three decades. I went from being a big fan of the Grammy’s to one who’s just felt let down over and over again. The Grammy’s now might play in the background each year but I rarely follow the Grammy’s seriously anymore. I could say the same for The Oscars but that’s another rant on it’s own.
So with that in mind, I never felt BTS needed The Grammy’s. Them not being nominated or not winning means very little to me. And I think, given the strong fandom as is ARMY, they will not lose their fandom over The Grammy’s. And yet, leading up the postponed date for announcement, I did feel myself getting nervous – for BigHit, BTS and the rest of ARMY. Because regardless of anyone’s personal opinion towards The Grammy’s here’s the truth from my own insight of why a nomination impacts the music industry and BTS themselves:
- It would have been another step towards breaking down main stream barriers
- It’s a baby step towards BTS being accepted as a possible and more serious nominee in the future.
On the negative side, are The Grammy’s merely giving BTS a little attention to appease the masses? Are they doing this just to invite BTS and therefore, increase their ratings? Both a possibility. There’s a huge reason why both AMA 2017 and BBMA 2018 slotted BTS’ performance near the end of the evening – they didn’t want a drop in ratings mid-way through the live event. TV, after all, is suffering from viewership as people are now going non-traditional with streaming and PVR-ing.
On the positive side, lets say they do invite BTS. Will they ask BTS to preform on stage? If so, then I do see this as a pretty big step and no longer just a baby step. After all, BTS have expressed interest in The Grammy’s and for them to be there AND perform live on stage, would be something I believe would make them very happy. After watching Burn the Stage (both the series and movie), it’s evident they love to perform in front of their fans. It’s part of what drives them to continue to produce music and go on tour.
In light of this, I would be very happy if The Grammy’s do ask them to perform. On the other hand, if The Grammy’s do not ask them, but only include them in this smaller version of a nomination which is not directly towards BTS but the artist(s) responsible for the album package design and concept, it will feel like a slap in the face.
In summary, I’m more waiting to hear about The Grammy’s line of performances. The results will conclude how I feel about the whole thing. In the end, I just want whatever makes BTS happy, though. So I’m keeping my finger’s crossed they will get to be at The Grammy’s.
.:shy:. 
My thoughts exactly!!
I was excited then, sigh, a bit of a backhanded compliment.
I think they’d like to pretend this is a flash in the pan. It will be interesting to watch BTS assimilate the Grammys . 😂 I’ve no doubt they will. American mainstream music won’t know what hit them, just like at Billboard. The bewildered looks on faces at the sound of screaming fans. The seven elegant gentlemen about to teach lazy, arrogant, self-obsessed American music industry members what a little blood, sweat, and tears can do….
Reblogged this on Carly Quinn and commented:
I too have been disapointed in the Grammys and Oscars. This is exactly what I think of the BTS Grammy. Next up…BTS as Time Magazine Person of the Year?
Thanks for reblogging! 🙂 I’m hoping The Grammy’s will be smart enough to invite them to perform. They need to shake things up a bit and BTS will do just the thing! By then I suspect BTS will have completed their world tour, finishing off with an encore performance at home. They do have to be careful of how many times they leave the country within a certain period of time as the two oldest, Jin and Yoongi have restrictions due to military rules. So I’m not sure how that’s going to pan out. I did notice once they left S. Korea, they stayed abroad during their N. American and Europe tour. That’s one leave of their country. 2nd leave was the 4 domes is Japan. Then third leave will be Hong Kong for MAMA (and I presume that is when they will resume their world tour in other parts of Asia). I have to read up on how many times the oldest two can leave the country before they enlists and serve. 5 times? So they need to play it safe. If they want to do another world tour before Jin/Yoongi enlist, going to The Grammy’s in February will eat up another allowance to leave their country.
I didn’t know about the allowances, so interesting!
I read a report earlier this summer that RM had gone in for his pre-military medical check up. It made me hope that we’re looking at maybe a 3 -4 split and only four years of being split up and not more like 14. I’m curious how they will handle it. I admit, it makes me sad! The though of not seeing all if them together for such a long time.
Is that 5 times a year? I’m thinking of their summer breaks and Bon Voyage. Or is it work vs pleasure?
That’s right – they went to Malta for BV3. What about BBMAs? And I also can’t remember when this new law came into affect. It might not have been around during the BBMAs. And it might have occurred after Yoongi turned 25 so it’s uncertain if it’s for those who turn 25 after the new law or are already 25. But it’s also confusing because in Asia, you are born being one year’s old. So I have no idea if they’re talking about international age or S. Korean age standards? This is the only article I’ve found so far which states men 25-27 can obtain up to 5 permits to travel outside of S. Korean during that period. https://www.koreaboo.com/news/bts-wins-favorite-social-artist-2018-amas/
I do wonder if Japan counts, though. If they were there promoting for their Japanese record label, did they find a loop-hole? But you are correct, should they go to MAMA in Hong Kong that will be 5 times.
It’s all very confusing!
Thank you!!! My best friends and I were discussing this in our whatsapp group. I’m sorry but I see that nomination as a slap in the face. Even if they do win, technically the award doesn’t even go to them. They should have been nominated in a more popular category
I hadn’t finished my point but my laptop decided to betray me.
My second point was that it wouldn’t surprise if (even after that snub of a nomination), the Grammy’s ask BTS to perform. They know that if BTS get on their stage, millions of ARMY are going to tune. And BTS would probably agree to it because they would be the first Korean artists to perform at the Grammy stage.
Lastly, I stopped having faith in the Grammys’ years ago. They treat artists of colour like crap. They have the audacity to nominate them for several awards (and give them none) and ask them to perform on stage so the fans will tune. You will never justice how Prince or Beyonce haven’t won Album Of The Year but Taylor Swift has won it twice. Nor will you ever be able to explain why the Jackson 5 never won a single Grammy. So I shouldn’t be surprised that BTS have been treated this way but it still hurts.
Does it not boggle the mind Prince has NEVER won? It just doesn’t make sense! I wasn’t the biggest fan of Prince (I like some of his work just not enough to become a die-hard fan) but I respected his artistry even though not all of his works fit my taste.
We’ll see if they invite BTS to perform and if so, whether or not BTS will go. It will depend on their schedule as well – The Grammy’s does fall during their break from their World Tour. They start again February 16th back in Japan.
I’m with you. I’m no where near the biggest Prince fan. However, I always appreciated his artistry and it is unacceptable that he never won.
Oh it’s during their break. I will really need BTS to rest because their schedule scares me as a fan. Do these boys sleep?
If BTS need to Trojan Horse the music industry by performing at the Grammys then they should do. I’m tired of them being under-minded for not singing in English and being the “Western norm.” I even wrote briefly about it. You should check it out.
They don’t seem to rest much, I’m afraid. It’s scary – not just for them but for any kpop idol. The pressure is so great to come out with new music every several months. And with the military requirement to enlist earlier now, the kpop career for male idols have a time stamp.
I will check out your link later tonight – thanks! 🙂 Nice to meet you!!!
I still can’t believe BTS dropped 2 albums and, 2 mixtapes, a single with Steve Aoki, a solo song from Jimin and a world tour in one simple year. It’s crazy.
The pressures on idols is too much and I really hope BigHit make the boys rest. They have a 7 year contract, they’re clearly not going anywhere and neither are we.
Thank you so much and it was nice talking to you too 🙂
Or if you want to focus just on their Love Yourself era, they did 3 albums in 12 months. I know the last one was a ‘repackaged’ album but lets face it – they had 4 new solo songs, the full solo song for Jungkook’s Euphoria and and an extended version of Jimin’s Serendipity, plus 3 new songs. That’s pretty much a full album. :p In between we had J-Hope’s hixtape, Hope World, and RM’s playlist, mono. They did a Bon Voyage 3 (which is the bomb), and filmed their next season of RUN! BTS. I don’t even want to get into the slew of radio and tv shows they appeared while on tour or during the BBMAs and then the big Asian awards/music shows – MMAs, MAMAs, Gayo and Music Festival to end the year. Somehow they had time to collaborate with Coke for the World Cup, more commercials for Seoul Tourism and Hyundai. There’s more as far as LG and probably other products. That would just kill me. Seriously – I would lose it!
Don’t forget that Namjoon had to prepare and deliver an entire speech for the UN. Chile, if I did all of this in one year, would be on the floor crying from tiredness.
That’s right! I knew I was forgetting something. In fact I’m sure I’ve left out a lot of things – who can even keep up? It makes me sad when I see them tired, sick or injured. 😦
Oh gosh the injuries 🙈. Between Jimin’s muscles, Jungkook’s foot and V losing his voice in either France or Germany. Those boys need REST
I agree with every word you said. Really.