Why BTS Skipped the 2023 Grammys
None of the members of BTS made the trip Stateside for the 2023 Grammys.
The superstar K-pop group was unaccounted for at music's biggest night this year, skipping the ceremony for the first time in several years. Ahead of the awards, members of their fandom ARMY were hoping that one of the members would attend on behalf of the group, but the group remained in South Korea.
The seven members—RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—were up for golden gramophones in the categories of Best Music Video for "Yet to Come," Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for their collaboration with Coldplay on "My Universe," and Album of the Year as featured artists on Coldplay's "Music of the Spheres."
The Pop Duo/Group award ultimately went to Sam Smith and Kim Petras for "Unholy," while Taylor Swift took home Best Music Video for "All Too Well: The Short Film."
Last June, the septet announced that they would be focusing on solo projects and other activities over the next two years, during which time all seven members would complete their mandated military service. Jin became the first member to enlist last December. As for solo works, both J-Hope and RM have since released their debut albums, with Jack in the Box and Indigo respectively.
"My Universe" marks the first collaboration between BTS and Coldplay; following its September 2021 release, the two beloved groups performed the Korean-language track for the first time together at the 2021 American Music Awards. The British rock group later worked with Jin on his debut solo single, "The Astronaut," which was released last October.
In an interview last year, Coldplay front man Chris Martin opened up about working with the group, saying that the success of their collaboration was "surprising even for us."
"The journey from the first time it was mentioned—I was just like, 'How could that ever work?'—to the song itself arriving and me thinking, 'That could be for BTS'—to now it feeling like the most natural collaboration in the world," he said. "It's an amazing lesson for myself in keeping an open mind all the time, because you just never know what life or music is gonna throw you."
Quinci LeGardye is an LA-based freelance writer who covers culture, politics, and mental health through a Black feminist lens. When she isn’t writing or checking Twitter, she’s probably watching the latest K-drama or giving a concert performance in her car.
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