BTS Declares Grammy Boycott... Grammy Begins Review of Asian Pop Category

BTS declared their absence from the Grammy Awards, and the Recording Academy has begun reviewing the controversial ″Asian Pop″ category. Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of Billboard, mentioned in a statement on the 14th (local time) that some artists feel the Asian Pop category does not represent their music, and as a musician himself, he accepts this. He emphasized that the Recording Academy has responded quickly to the needs of the music community over the past six years and said they will continue to strive to ensure musicians are respected. Harvey Mason Jr. also stated that they may consider restructuring the process of developing new award categories and noted that with the Grammy Awards categories exceeding 100, it is time to contemplate the future direction. Billboard predicted that the Recording Academy might reorganize the ″Asian Pop″ category starting from next year’s ceremony. It is known that the Recording Academy is currently in discussions with music industry figures from the Asian region. The Recording Academy stated that Harvey Mason Jr. and leaders of various organizations have held conversations with musicians, labels, and managers from K-pop, J-pop, C-pop, India, and others, including HYBE. They also convened the full board and the nominating committees to conduct separate advisory work on the ″Asian Pop″ category. The Grammy Awards announced in June the establishment of a new category, ″Best Asian Pop Music Performance,″ distinguishing music from Asian countries such as Korea, China, and Japan. This sparked criticism that despite K-pop’s global popularity, it was only receiving an ″Asian Pop″ award rather than a main award. On the 29th of last month, BTS declared a boycott of the Grammy Awards, stating, ″We have decided not to submit to the Grammys this year. We hope music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language.″ Following this, Harvey Mason Jr. expressed through the official Grammy account that he ″understands and respects their decision as music creators.″ Regarding the establishment of the ″Asian Pop Music Performance″ category, he explained, ″It was created to celebrate the depth, diversity, and remarkable growth of pop artistry coming out of Asia,″ and clarified, ″It is meant to shine a dedicated spotlight on important artists, not to separate or discriminate against them.″