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Grammys Move Forward With Controversial Asian Pop Category, Despite Boycott From BTS and Other Big K-Pop Acts

Despite K-pop acts such as BTS boycotting the 2027 Grammy Awards, the Recording Academy moves forward with its new Asian Pop Category.

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On June 16, 2026, the Recording Academy, which hosts and presents the annual Grammy Awards, created a new category. In 2027, the new category, Best Asian Pop Music Performance, will debut at the 69th Annual Grammy Awards in February. This isn’t the first time the Academy has created a regionally specific category. In 2024, they launched the Best African Music Performance Award. This new category sparked a debate over geographical representation, genre consolidation, and eligibility rules. Similarly, these same reasons have generated controversy around the new Best Asian Pop Music Performance.

The newest category was created to recognize the performances of leading acts in K-pop, J-pop, and C-pop. In the last decade, K-pop in particular has dominated the pop charts, becoming massively popular. This is........

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