Despite Success, BTS Might Not Qualify For "Best New Artist" Grammy

Ever since BTS won “Top Social Artist” at the Billboard Music Awards (twice), fans have been hoping for a Grammy nomination, but that nomination may not be for “Best New Artist”.

Grammy defines a “new artist” as any artist/group who releases a recording that establishes the public identity of that artist/group as a performer, during the eligibility period of their nomination. This period is from Oct. 1, 2017 to Sept. 30, 2018.

Artists cannot be nominated for this category if they were nominated for another performance category during a previous year. The only exception is if that nomination came from a single or feature on another artist’s track, and the artist hasn’t yet released a full album.

To qualify for this category, artists must also meet three other requirements. Artists may not have entered into this category more than three times. They must have also achieved a mainstream breakthrough and impacted the music world during their eligibility period.

So far, so good. BTS have not been nominated to this category before. They have also entered into the public consciousness had a massive influence on the worldwide musical landscape, during their eligibility period.

Here’s where the problem lies; the rules state that an artist must have released no more than 30 tracks or three albums prior to their eligibility period. This means that BTS may not qualify as a “new artist” because they have produced 97 songs, three times the maximum, since their debut.

That said, when it comes to the “Best New Artist” award, nothing is set in stone. This category has undergone a number of rule changes over the years to allow various big name artists, such as Lady Gaga, to be nominated.

Even if BTS does not qualify for the “Best New Artist” award, they may have a shot at winning another Grammy, possibly even in one of the other “Big 4” categories: “Album of the Year”, “Song of the Year”, or “Record of the Year”.