The Recording Academy expressed its regret concerning the decision of BTS not to submit music for next year’s “Grammy Awards” and defended the newly created Asian pop category.
“I am saddened to learn that BTS has chosen not to participate in the “Grammy Awards” process this year, but as a music creator, I understand and respect their decision,” declared the CEO of the Recording Academy, Harvey Mason Jr., in a statement published Wednesday.
Mason also addressed the criticism against the new category “Best Asian Pop Music Performance”.
“The Asian Pop category was created to celebrate the depth, diversity, and extraordinary growth of pop artistry coming from Asia. The spirit of this new category is to shine a dedicated spotlight on these important artists.” he wrote subsequently.
The Recording Academy announced in June that it would introduce a new category “Best Asian Pop Music Performance” at the “Grammy Awards” for music coming from Asian countries, including Korea, China, and Japan. The decision sparked criticism according to which K-pop groups could be restricted to the new category rather than competing on an equal footing in the general field awards of the Grammys.
Mason clarified that submitting music in genre-specific categories such as pop, jazz, or country does not prevent artists from competing in general field categories, including “Album of the Year” and “Song of the Year”.
“These categories remain open to any eligible recording, regardless of genre. Recognition in a genre category and recognition in the general field are not mutually exclusive. An artist can absolutely pursue both.” he added.
The CEO’s remarks follow the announcements made by the members of BTS a day earlier. The seven members wrote on their social media accounts that they would not submit music to the Grammys this year.
Many K-pop artists left empty-handed at the Grammys, which have long been criticized for their reluctance to recognize K-pop artists.
BTS obtained its first Grammy nomination for “Dynamite” (2020) in 2020, then for “Butter” (2021) the following year. In 2022, the group received other nominations for its collaboration with COLDPLAY “My universe” (2021), as a guest artist on COLDPLAY’s “MUSIC OF THE SPHERES” (2021) and its song “Yet to come” (2022). However, the group never won.
“Apt.” by ROSÉ obtained three major nominations — ‘Song of the Year’, ‘Record of the Year’, and ‘Best Pop Duo/Group Performance’ —, although the song did not win either.
“Golden” (2025), from the soundtrack of the hit animation “KPOP DEMON HUNTERS” (2025), became the first Korean song to win the ‘Best Song Written for Visual Media’ award at the 68th edition of the “Grammy Awards” in February.
Journalist: Shawn
Translator: Shawn
Source: SNS Grammy
