Grammys' "Asian Pop" Without BTS and Stray Kids: Who Is This Award For?

BTS boycott followed by Stray Kids' decision not to submit entries
BLACKPINK also barred by language and release-date rules
Asian-language requirement sparks debate over representativeness
The inaugural nominees will define the new category's cha

Stray Kids perform as headliners at the STRAYCITY music festival in Mexico City, Mexico, on the 25th of last month (local time). Courtesy of OCESA and Pablo Deyta.

The U.S. Grammy Awards have pushed ahead with the controversial creation of a new Best Asian Pop Performance category, putting its representativeness to the test from its inaugural year. With major K-pop groups active in global markets, including Stray Kids following BTS, not submitting entries, the first slate of nominees is increasingly likely to exclude some of the genre's leading acts.

According to people in the music industry and foreign media reports on October 8, Stray Kids did not submit an entry during the online submission period for the 69th Grammy Awards, which closed on August 21. Stray Kids topped Billboard's main albums chart, the Billboard 200, in November last year and again in August this year, and all eight members were invited to join the Recording Academy as voting members this year. The BBC and NME described the group's absence as a "boycott," while Billboard called it a refusal to submit an entry following BTS and focused on the group's connection to the new category.

BTS had earlier said in July that it would not submit an entry, saying, "We hope music will be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language." BTS has been nominated for a Grammy five times but has yet to win.

As the controversy grew, the Recording Academy reviewed the plan, including by soliciting feedback from more than 80 people in the Asian music industry, but ultimately kept the new category. Chief Executive Officer Harvey Mason Jr. said more creators had voiced support for retaining the category than opposition to it.

The Asian pop category covers contemporary popular music created in or widely recognized in Asian markets, including K-pop, J-pop and C-pop. Eligibility is based on musical characteristics, not nationality or ethnicity, but a meaningful portion of the lyrics must be in at least one Asian language. Songs performed entirely in English are ineligible.

BTS. Provided by Big Hit Music.

The language requirement has drawn criticism for clashing with K-pop's globalization, as more English-language songs are being made to target U.S. and European markets. In BLACKPINK's case, "JUMP" falls outside this year's Grammy eligibility period, while the remaining four songs on the mini-album "DEADLINE" are in English and therefore cannot be submitted in the Asian pop category.

There is also interest in how the new category will relate to the existing pop categories. Songs submitted in the Asian pop category may also be submitted separately for the general field categories, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year, but the same recording cannot be entered in another performance category. This has prompted concerns that, contrary to the stated aim of expanding opportunities for Asian music to win, the category could serve to separate it from mainstream pop categories.

K-pop has already reached the Grammy general field without a separate category. This year, "APT." by ROSE and Bruno Mars was nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year, while "Golden" from the film "K-Pop Demon Hunters" was also nominated for Song of the Year.

First-round voting for the 69th Grammy Awards will take place from October 12 to 22, and the nominees will be announced on November 16. If the first slate of nominees includes music from a broad range of regions, including Japan, China and Southeast Asia, that could strengthen the case for the new category's aim of highlighting pan-Asian music. On the other hand, if leading Asian artists who have competed in the global pop market continue to stay away, questions about the category's representativeness are expected to intensify.

Park Jinyoung, co-chair of the Popular Culture Exchange Committee, also criticized the new criteria during an appearance on SBS radio, saying, "I think there will be side effects" and that they "conflict greatly with what K-pop has been trying to do." The composition of the inaugural slate of nominees is expected to be the first major test of the Asian pop category's future and whether its rules will be reconsidered.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.