Grammy Asian pop category: 2027 debut survives huge backlash
The Recording Academy confirmed Thursday, Oct. 1, that the new Grammy Asian pop category, best Asian pop music performance, will go ahead as planned at the 2027 Grammy Awards. The decision comes two months after BTS skipped Grammy submissions this year in protest of the award. The announcement came 11 days before first-round voting begins, Billboard noted.
Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. acknowledged that reactions to the category were mixed. Still, he said, “by far, the loudest feedback we heard was from people who were enthusiastic supporters of the category,” according to Billboard.
Why the Grammy Asian pop category is staying
The academy said it held talks over the past two months with its board of trustees, its awards and nominations committee, and artists, executives and leaders from the Asian music community. It described those meetings as productive and said they showed “genuine enthusiasm for the category.”
In August, the academy brought in members and leaders of the Asian pop community, representing K-pop, J-pop, C-pop, India and more, to advise it on how to honor the music in this first awards cycle, according to Billboard.
The academy cited two pieces of evidence for what it called “broad-based support for the category”: feedback from the community and a strong number of submissions, Billboard reported.
“Over the past several weeks the Academy has been conducting listening sessions and have been in dialogue with leaders of the Asian music community,” Mason said in a statement. “The journey has been rewarding and inspiring.”
He also conceded that not everyone will be happy. “We understand this conclusion will not satisfy everyone, and that never feels good. But at the same time, we are confident it’s the right conclusion for the music community overall,” Mason said.
How the category works
The award sits in the Pop & Dance/Electronic Field and covers contemporary pop that originates in or is widely recognized in Asian markets, including K-pop, J-pop and C-pop. Recordings must make meaningful use of one or more Asian languages, and songs performed entirely in English are not eligible, according to the academy’s official description.
The academy also says musical style, not a performer’s ethnicity or nationality, determines eligibility. A single recording can compete in only one performance category, but artists can still be nominated in the General Field, including album, record and song of the year.
Like all 100 categories on the 2027 ballot, the Grammy Asian pop category remains subject to the academy’s annual review. The academy said it has opened “an ongoing dialogue about how its rules and eligibility requirements can evolve over time.”
How BTS sparked the backlash
The academy introduced the Grammy Asian pop category on June 16 alongside four other new categories, as we reported at the time. On July 29, BTS said it would not submit its recordings for Grammy consideration this year.
“We have decided not to submit to the Grammys this year,” read a translation of the members’ messages, per Billboard. “I hope that music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language.”
On Aug. 14, Mason said in a statement that “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.”
2027 Grammys key dates
- First-round voting: Oct. 12-22
- Nominations announced: Monday, Nov. 16
- Final-round voting: Dec. 10 to Jan. 7
- 69th Grammy Awards: Sunday, Feb. 7, 2027
The first winner of the Grammy Asian pop category will be named at that ceremony. For more on the group, see our story on the new “Run BTS” Toronto episodes, and follow our music coverage for nomination news.
Reporting from Billboard contributed to this story.