BTS vs. The Grammys

All is silent now. But some weeks ago, pop music looked like it was in for a major shake-up because of BTS and the Grammys.

The Grammys was said to be reconsidering its new Best Asian Pop Performance category. And it was all because of BTS.

The thought then was that the South Korean pop phenomenon BTS had become so big that it can now move mountains. Well, not yet. But it did seem to be making an attempt to do so. The mountain in this case was the Grammy Awards of the U.S. of A.

You are all familiar with the story. The Grammys announced the inclusion of a new category, Best Asian Pop Music Performance. A few days later, BTS put out a statement. The boy band is not submitting its album “Arirang” to the Grammys for possible nominations at the 2027 awards.

BTS did not say if not sending “Arirang” was their reaction to the new category. What they did say was “We hope that music can be heard and loved by itself rather than being divided by region or language.”

The Best Asian Pop Music Performance award can certainly bring focus to the amazing pop artistry emerging from Asia. This does not mean just on K-pop but also on C-pop from China, J-pop from Japan and even P-pop from the Philippines, plus others.

The problem is that this new category could have been designed to isolate Asian pop from the major and general field categories of the Grammys. BTS still has to win a Grammy, but they have been nominated for Dynamite, Butter, My Universe with Coldplay and Yet to Come.

Last year, Golden from the “K-pop Demon Hunters” movie won the Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media. It was the first win ever for a South Korean act. This, along with the BTS reaction, was what caused observers to think that the new category is a form of segregation.

Or maybe it was the first inkling of the fear of an Asian onslaught. Try to imagine what the Grammys of the future would be like for true-blue Americans if those acts from Asia win and win and win again… and given how good most of them are these days, they just might.

The response from the Grammys was that it was rethinking the inclusion of the new category. Maybe also its parameters. The news had it that the deadline was last Aug. 21, but I have not heard of any answer from the Grammys up to this writing.

If there is none, then the Grammys is standing pat on its decision. Hey, BTS kids, this is the Grammys, an old, respected institution. Note that it has already taken down all footage of Grammy performances by BTS from its site. The Grammys did not buckle under BTS pressure. The mountain remains silent and standing.

I really have nothing against this new category. Truth to tell, it might even be good for Asian music, which will get the chance to be nominated and even win while competing only with other Asians and not with countless other recordings.

Now, BTS might have given up on the dream with its Grammy boycott. But it cannot be denied that any music artist from any part of this world would love to bring home a Grammy, and who cares about the category where it came from?

What I want to know is if the Asian acts nominated will also have the chance to be nominated and maybe even win in the main categories like Record of the Year or Album of the Year.

If yes is the answer to that, then I am all for this Best Asian Performance category. Who knows something good might indeed come out of putting the spotlight on Asian acts performing in their native languages at the Grammys.

Meanwhile, as of now, there are no Grammys in sight for BTS.