Grammy chief Harvey Mason Jr. has issued a statement in which he says the Awards’ controversial newest category, Asian Pop, will go forward for the 2027 ceremony. Mason had previously signaled that the Recording Academy was reconsidering the new category in the wake of decidedly split reactions after it was announced in June. BTS in particular objected to the category, implying that it effectively ghetto-izes a genre of music more than highlighting it and saying they will not submit their music for Grammy consideration in 2027.
However, Mason is unequivocal about the award going forward, at least for 2027, based on conversations with multiple people in the community. Our organization is at its best when we engage deeply with music people and go the extra mile to understand their lived experiences. We also heard from people who didn’t have accurate information about the category, and having space to clear up misperceptions has been especially valuable.
But by far, the loudest feedback we heard was from people who were enthusiastic supporters of the category, fellow music creators expressing their encouragement for keeping it. But at the same time, we are confident it’s the right conclusion for the music community overall. As is the case with all our categories, we will continue to diligently engage with the music community and keep striving to honor this music — and all music — in the best possible way.
We look forward to celebrating the Asian Pop Music Performance nominees at the 2027 Grammy Awards.” The Academy also noted that it has received a “robust” number of submissions for the category, signaling strong interest in its first year. The introduction of the award revived a familiar issue with the Grammys’ genre-specific awards. While the intent may be to recognize music in a certain genre or language, many people within that community feel that it actually ends up being exclusionary, with voters relegating music or artists into those genre categories rather than more-mainstream ones; this has been a common complaint with regard to the Latin Grammys.
While BTS has been nominated for Grammy Awards five times, in pop and other categories, the group has never won.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
.png)
