BTS-led boycott of the Grammy Awards’ new Asian pop category has snowballed into an industry-wide standoff, leaving the inaugural Best Asian Pop Music Performance field nearly empty of K-pop contenders.
According to Grammy analysis site The Grammy Guru, artists affiliated with South Korea’s four major agencies — HYBE, YG Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, and SM Entertainment — submitted no entries to the new category as of October 15 (KST). That means flagship acts including BTS, BLACKPINK, aespa, and TWICE are all absent from the race, a lineup that only became clear after the Recording Academy opened first-round member voting for nominees.
Yonhap News reported that the K-pop acts challenging the category were limited to just four teams: girl groups IVE, KiiiKiii, and FIFTY FIFTY, along with veteran singer Park Hyo-shin.
The boycott began with BTS. On July 29, the group announced it would not submit entries to the 69th Grammy Awards in protest of the new category’s creation, saying it hoped “music would be heard and loved as music itself, rather than being divided by region or language.” BTS withdrew its fifth full-length album “Arirang” from nomination consideration, per SBS Entertainment News. Stray Kids followed earlier this month, announcing it would skip the ceremony entirely.
The core objection, echoed across Korean media, is that grouping Korean, Chinese, and Japanese pop music into one regional category reflects a Western-centric mindset — and effectively blocks Asian acts from competing in the general field categories. Music critic Lim Jin-mo went further on tvN’s “You Quiz on the Block,” calling BTS’s move “a declaration of independence from the United States.”
The vacuum is being filled elsewhere in Asia. SBS reported that Japanese artists including Utada Hikaru, King Gnu, Hitsujibungaku, Kenshi Yonezu, and YOASOBI submitted entries in large numbers, alongside Philippine group SB19 and Jay Chou — shifting attention to who will actually take home the new trophy.
K-pop is not sitting out the Grammys entirely. Outside the Asian pop category, submissions continued apace: Jisoo’s collaboration “EYES CLOSED” with Zayn, ENHYPEN’s “Bloody Paradise,” KATSEYE’s “Animal,” NMIXX’s “Caution” with Anderson .Paak, Lisa’s “Goals” featuring Anitta and Rema, and Jennie’s “Dracula” with Tame Impala were all entered for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. KATSEYE also submitted for Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year, aiming for a second straight year of general-field contention after last year’s Best New Artist nomination.
The Recording Academy will announce final nominees on November 16, with final voting running December 10 through January 7. The 69th Grammy Awards ceremony takes place February 7 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
