BTS receives multiple 2023 Grammy nominations

 South Korean supergroup BTS has been nominated in multiple categories of the 2023 Grammy Awards, becoming the first K-pop act to receive a Grammy nomination for three consecutive years.

The septet was nominated for the best pop duo or group performance for “My Universe,” along with British rock band Coldplay, and best music video for “Yet to Come,” during the official Grammy nomination ceremony livestreamed by the U.S. Recording Academy on Tuesday (U.S. time).

But the total number of nods the band got this time can increase to three if the nomination of “Music of the Spheres,” the ninth studio album by the British band, for the album of the year is counted. The album includes “My Universe,” the band’s collaborative single with BTS.

Album of the year is one of Grammy’s big four prizes in the general fields section, along with record of the year, song of the year and best new artist. If Coldplay wins the award, BTS will be listed as a recipient under changes in eligibility rules of the prize announced by the Recording Academy last year. The new rules say artists, featured artists, songwriters and engineers are eligible to be nominees and recipients.

Three BTS members — RM, Suga and J-Hope, who participated in the song’s writing — will also be listed as winners in that case.

The latest best pop duo/group performance selection marks the third year in a row that BTS has been nominated in the category. The group was previously nominated for global megahits “Dynamite” and “Butter” in 2020 and 2021, respectively, but failed to win an award. Last year, the group also took the stage to perform at the awards ceremony.

A photo of K-pop boy group BTS, provided by Big Hit Music (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

The other nominees in the category are ABBA (“Don’t Shut Me Down”) and three collaborative teams of solo artists — Camila Cabello featuring Ed Sheeran (“Bam Bam”), Post Malone and Doja Cat (“I Like You”), and Sam Smith and Kim Petras (“Unholy.”)

“Yet to Come” is the main single off BTS’ latest anthology album, “Proof.”

The music video for the song about the K-pop giant’s nine-year journey was shot in a desert in the United States. It also got generally favorable reviews for its beautiful scenes and numerous visual references to past music videos from different eras in the band’s career. The video was such a global hit that it surpassed 100 million views only 10 days after it was uploaded on YouTube.

The five other nominees for best music video are Adele’s “Easy on Me,” Doja Cat’s “Woman,” Harry Styles’ “As It Was,” Kendrick Lamar’s “The Heart Part 5″ and Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well: The Short Film.”

The latest nominations come ahead of Jin’s entry into the military. The oldest BTS member is expected to begin about two years of his mandatory military service next month at the earliest, causing a hiatus to the band’s activities as a full group.

The multiple nominations came as a surprise, considering BTS did no special musical activities as a group this year except for dropping the anthology album, unlike the past two years when its English-language songs “Dynamite” and “Butter” hit the global music markets.

BTS tweeted its gratitude for the nominations.

“We’re honored and grateful that ‘My Universe,’ the song we participated in, was nominated for a Grammy, along with ‘Yet to Come,’” the band said on its official Twitter page.

The 65th Grammy Awards is set for Feb. 5 in Los Angeles.