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Just two months after the Grammy Awards announced a new category for Asian pop — and just weeks after BTS announced they would not submit their music for the 2027 awards, in part because of what they feel are the limitations
of this awards — the Recording Academy has signaled that it is at least rethinking the new award.
“The Grammy organization exists to serve all music people, and part of that is working to ensure that no voice or community gets overlooked or misunderstood,” Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said in a statement. “It’s clear from our numerous conversations with many stakeholders over the past two weeks that, regardless of our intent and desire to be even more inclusive, there are some artists in this space who feel that this category isn’t representing the music they work so hard to create, in the way they wish. As a musician myself, I take that to heart.
“Over the past six years, the Academy has shown that it can act decisively and move swiftly to meet the needs of our music community. The management and Board are committed to working together to keep pace with that progress and ensure the musicians we intend to honor feel truly seen and heard by our actions.”
Sources tell Variety that Mason and other Grammy executives have been in discussion with artists and execs representing K-pop, J-pop, C-pop, India and more. The Academy is convening its full Board and Awards & Nominations Committee to work with members of and leaders from this community to seek further advice on the category, as well as its process for introducing new categories and awards.
A source also said that volunteers from the Academy’s Gold Music Alliance have been “bullied and threatened by social media users” who believe they were involved in the category’s creation; actually, the category was determined through the annual Awards & Nominations process.
Under Mason’s leadership, the Academy has shown a strong willingness to re-examine and, at times, revise its policies and decisions in response to comments and concerns from its members and others in the creative community. It has also worked to update and diversify its membership.
However, genre-specific awards can be problematic, as members of genres may feel that such categories amount to ghetto-ization rather than respect. Many artists who are associated with specific genres would prefer to be considered in general categories instead.
That appears to be the case with BTS, who said in part in their statement, “We hope our music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language.”
Billboard first reported the re-consideration; Variety will have more on the situation as it develops.
