Photo from @bts_bighit on Twitter
MANILA, Philippines — Korean boy band sensation BTS adds another feather to its cap after receiving an invitation to become Recording Academy members.
BTS alongside its label BigHit Entertainment’s chief executive Bang Si-hyuk were among the 1,350 new members invited, the management agency said Friday.
[기사] #빅히트 방시혁 대표, #방탄소년단 과 美 그래미 '레코딩 아카데미' 회원 선정https://t.co/csO7Hbz8hW
— BIGHIT MUSIC (@BIGHIT_MUSIC) June 6, 2019
The seven-member group was invited as a voter member, which covers artists who have released albums in the United States, while Bang was invited as a professional member, which is limited to executive producers, representatives of executive music labels, among others.
Should they accept the invitation, BTS and its chief producer will be eligible to vote in the coveted 2020 Grammy Awards.
BTS album “Love Yourself: Tear” and Seoul-based branding outfit HuskyFox earned their first nomination for best recording package in the 2019 Grammy Awards.
The group, consisting of RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook, also previously appeared in the awards show to present the R&B Album of the Year.
READ: BTS makes historic Grammys debut
The Recording Academy its move to invite more artists from various backgrounds is part of its massive drive to bring in new members who will help diversify the membership along racial, gender, and age lines.
“The 2019 class is comprised of music creators and professionals from across the music industry and their talents and backgrounds span many genres, crafts, ethnicities, genders, ages, locations and professions,” the Academy’s Vice President for membership and industry relations Laura Segura Mueller said in a statement.
“As a result of meaningful recent changes to our member recruitment process, the class is more representative of the diverse voices, modes of expression, and excellence within the music industry,” she added. (Editor: Katherine G. Adraneda)
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