It’s been a tumultuous year for the Grammys. Originally set to take place on January 31, the 64th Annual Grammy Awards were postponed because of safety issues stemming from the surge of the Omicron variant. Now that the Grammys have been rescheduled for Sunday, April 3, Covid continues to create more problems, throwing BTS’s highly anticipated performance into question. Will BTS perform at this year’s Grammys? Here’s what we know so far.
BTS at the Grammys
This year, BTS is nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for their single “Butter,” which has spent 15 weeks in the number 1 slot on Billboard’s Hot Trending Songs Chart. If they win, they’ll make history as the first K-Pop group to receive a Grammy. Of course, they’ve already made history as the first K-Pop group to get a nomination in the first place, when their single “Dynamite” was nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance in 2021.
This year, BTS is slated to perform “Butter” during the awards ceremony. Last year’s performance of “Dynamite” created some controversy, when the Grammys kept promising the group’s performance was “coming up next,” ultimately placing them near the very end of the 3.5 hour-long ceremony. Adding insult to injury, “Dynamite” was passed over for the award itself, with the Grammy going to “Rain on Me” by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande. One would hope that this year would be the Grammys’ chance to do right by the group.
Jungkook and J-Hope in Quarantine
Now though, two of the members might have to bow out, leaving BTS fans wondering if the remaining five will perform at the Grammys at all.
Band member J-Hope has been isolating in South Korea since March 24, when he contracted Covid. Since the rescheduled Grammys fall outside of the isolation window, there’s hope that he’ll still be able to join the rest of BTS onstage on Sunday.
However, Jungkook has now contracted the virus as well. According to BTS’s management company HYBE, the singer began feeling symptoms after arriving in Las Vegas earlier this week. Now he’s in quarantine too. HYBE has assured fans that his case is mild and no other band members have been exposed, but it’s looking pretty unlikely that he’ll be performing at the Grammys.
However, no one has definitively counted him out yet. According to a statement on HYBE’s website, HYBE is “actively in discussion with the awards organizer.” They maintain that “Jungkook’s participation in the later schedule in the United States will be determined by the local regulations on COVID-19.”
The good news is that it seems likely that at least five members—hopefully six—will go onstage on Sunday. As for Jungkook, we hope he gets well quickly, and not just because we’d love to see him bust a move at the Grammys.
(image: Recording Academy)
