“BTS No Longer Needs the Grammys”… Kim Tae-hoon Assesses the ‘Grammys Boycott’

[SPOTV News=Reporter Hong Hye-min] Pop columnist and broadcaster Kim Tae-hoon shared his thoughts on BTS's boycott of the Grammys.

On the 23rd, Kim Tae-hoon uploaded a video to his YouTube channel 'Kim Tae-hoon's Listening Room' titled 'Why the Grammys Are No Longer Important to BTS.'

In the video, Kim Tae-hoon discussed BTS, who recently announced their boycott of the Grammy Awards, saying, "If I put it a little strongly, you could say they landed a punch," and added, "I found it exhilarating. I thought, 'These young artists are doing something I hadn't thought of?'"

He continued, "We become awakened through certain events, don't we? After seeing the news about BTS's boycott, I belatedly thought, 'Ah, that's true.' European artists are also nominated for the Grammys, so why isn't there a category for Europe? I think BTS accomplished something remarkable simply by awakening us."

The Grammys have currently stated that they will transparently overhaul the newly established process. Regarding this, Kim Tae-hoon said, "I wonder whether BTS will accept that."

He said, "The members expressed their position in Korean through their individual accounts. This shows that the members freely voiced their opinions, rather than it being an official statement from their agency, HYBE," and continued, "If the company's position were involved, it would become weightier, so it seems they presented it as a personal rather than an official HYBE position. I think they very cleverly left open a back door for negotiations."

At the same time, he said, "From BTS's perspective, it doesn't seem that there is much room to accept the Grammys' proposal, because BTS no longer needs the Grammys," adding, "The times have changed, haven't they? As we entered the 21st century, power shifted to the public, centered around social media. Does BTS need a trophy? BTS has also awakened to the fact that, if they possess the power of the public, they can change the balance of power."

Kim Tae-hoon also focused on the significance of BTS's boycott announcement for the Grammy Awards as a whole. He said, "Latin artists may also think, 'Oh, that's true. Why are they turning Latin music into a subgenre?'" and added, "I think the Grammys would suffer a major blow if Black musicians, in particular, opposed them. This could perhaps be triggered through BTS. It could develop into a huge movement, campaign, or trend, and I think the Grammys must be feeling an enormous sense of crisis about it."

Meanwhile, BTS recently announced that they would not submit music to the '69th Grammy Awards,' scheduled to take place in the United States next February, in protest against the establishment of a new 'Best Asian Pop Music Performance' category at the Grammy Awards.