ABC News reported on the 16th (local time) that next year’s Grammy Awards will introduce five new categories: Best Asian Pop Music Performance, Best Latin Song, Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance, Best R&B Performance or Collaboration by a Duo or Group, and Best Traditional Folk Album.
The Best Asian Pop Music Performance category was created to recognize excellence in Asian popular music. It applies to songs that make meaningful use of Asian languages, including K-pop, J-pop, and C-pop, and are performed by artists of Asian heritage or artists who are recognized within the region.
In the past, K-pop artists such as BTS and Rosé of Blackpink have made repeated attempts to break through in the Grammy Awards’ major categories but have yet to take home a Grammy trophy. Meanwhile, earlier this year, “Golden,” a track from the soundtrack of Netflix’s animated film "K-Pop: Demon Hunters," became the first K-pop song in history to win a Grammy Award.
Many observers believe these changes could expand the chances of victory for K-pop artists, including BTS. Awards prediction outlet Gold Derby commented, “The Grammys are getting bigger — and that's great news for BTS and Ella Langley.”
However, some industry experts and the majority of BTS fans have reacted quite differently! Forbes pointed out that even if Asian pop artists such as BTS win Best Asian Pop Music Performance, the situation could be viewed as problematic if they continue to be excluded from major categories such as Record of the Year or Album of the Year. According to the publication, that would amount to acknowledging the commercial impact of Asian pop music without fully integrating it into the Grammys’ primary competitive landscape.
BTS fans have been even more direct, openly calling out what they see as long-standing racial bias within the Grammy system. One fan wrote: “Beyonce won - they introduced Contemporary Country category, Bad Bunny won - they introduced Latin category, Tyla won - they introduced Afrobeats category, and now BTS released the biggest album of this year - they introduced Asian category. You see the pattern of these fckin яα¢ιѕтs”.
Many fans argue that whenever artists of color or international artists become too successful to ignore, the Grammys often respond not by awarding them the most prestigious honors in the Big Four categories—such as Album of the Year or Record of the Year—but by creating new genre- or region-specific categories where they can be recognized separately.
To supporters of this argument, history offers several painful examples. Beyoncé, despite being the most awarded artist in Grammy history, spent years being overlooked for Album of the Year while repeatedly being recognized in R&B categories. Latin superstar Bad Bunny achieved global dominance but fell short in major categories and was largely confined to Latin and Urban awards. Likewise, Tyla's rapid rise coincided with the introduction of a dedicated African music category.
Now consider what ARIRANG accomplished before the Grammys announced the new category. The album was named the Best Album of 2026 by Rolling Stone, NME, and Complex. It recorded the biggest opening week for a group in the United States in the past 12 years with 641,000 units sold. It also became the most-streamed K-pop album in Spotify history during its first week, generating 545 million streams. With achievements that rival and even surpαѕѕ many releases in the αмєяι¢αn market, ARIRANG has more than earned consideration for an Album of the Year nomination.
The timing of the new Asian category is not a coincidence but rather a move that could prevent K-pop acts from competing on equal footing with wнιтe artists in the Grammys’ most prestigious races. From this perspective, creating a separate category allows the Recording Academy to capitalize on the popularity and engagement generated by international superstars while preserving the dominance of wнιтe αмєяι¢αn artists in its "Big Four" awards.
Instead of celebrating a new category that many predict BTS would be heavily favored to win, fans have expressed frustration and outrage, writing:
- This is blatant discrimination. It feels like the ‘Asian Pop’ category was created to separate BTS from the main categories and prevent them from winning. Ironically, it only proves their impact imagine creating an entire category because of one group, so say Thanks to BTS
- wow so GRAMMYS finally found a way to give an award to ARIRANG without disturbing their "OWN" people ... SUPERB! Maybe BH shouldn't even submit their nomination ...let the яα¢ιѕтs run their own circus and be happy with it!
- They were SO afraid this time bts would actually win the main aoty category that they had to create a whole new category for asians..... bts didnt wrote ALIENS for no reason... "How are you so shameless" & they continue to prove them right
- Doing everything they can to keep bts from winning big main awards
- the bts’s impact is huge that you have grammy’s яα¢ιѕт a** creating asian category just bc they can’t ignore BTS’s impact.
- I’m so disappointed. BTS should not be pigeonholed into “Best Asian” when they are rightly deserving of AOTY and Album of the year and Group of the Year.
- They know BTS is better and bigger than all their western artists but they refuse to accept it, so they make another category for having them apart instead nominated as any other artist. Grammys is the worst trash ever.
