K-Pop · BusinessFP-029 · Side A
After BTS, HYBE, SM, JYP and YG Skip the Grammys' New Asian Pop Category
K-pop's four biggest companies reportedly sent nothing to best Asian pop music performance. The Recording Academy is going ahead anyway, and nominations land November 16.
K-pop's four largest entertainment companies, HYBE, SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment and YG Entertainment, have reportedly chosen not to submit their artists to the Grammys' new best Asian pop music performance category, The Korea Herald reported on October 23.
That widens a story that began with two groups. BTS said in July that it would not enter, and Stray Kids later did the same. Local media now report that acts including TWICE and aespa, along with YG artists, also sent no entries, per the Herald.
What the category is
The Recording Academy announced the award on June 16 as one of five new categories for the 69th Grammy Awards. Its description names K-pop, J-pop and C-pop as examples, and entries must make "meaningful use of one or more Asian languages," Billboard reported.
Critics argued the award could wall Asian artists off from the general pop fields instead of opening a way into them. On July 29, BTS said it hoped music would be heard "rather than being categorized by region or language," according to Billboard.
The Academy's answer
The Academy reviewed the award for weeks, meeting artists, labels and managers including HYBE, and said on October 1 that it would keep the category under its current rules. "By far the loudest voices were those who passionately supported keeping this category," CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said, Billboard reported.
The category drew 116 submissions. The Herald points out that another new category, best Latin song, drew 519.
Who did enter
Not everyone stayed out. The Philippine acts SB19 and BINI told Billboard they entered the category, with "VISA" and "Unang Kilig." Prediction sites have floated Japanese artists including Kenshi Yonezu, Hikaru Utada and YOASOBI, and K-pop acts including IVE, KiiiKiii and FIFTY FIFTY, the Herald reports. ENHYPEN and KATSEYE are rumored to have entered existing fields such as best pop duo/group performance instead.
Not a boycott, on paper
The Herald is careful on one point: the four companies' choices should not be read as a coordinated industry boycott. JYP confirmed in early October that Stray Kids missed the August 21 deadline, but did not say whether the category was the reason.
Coordinated or not, the result is that BTS and Stray Kids will not be on the first ballot for the award. Music critic Lim Hee-yun told the Herald that when one of the best-known Asian acts sits out because it disagrees with the premise, "that becomes part of the context surrounding the award," per the report.
What comes next
First-round Grammy voting opened October 12. Nominations for the 69th Grammy Awards will be announced November 16, ahead of the February 7, 2027 ceremony in Los Angeles, per Billboard. The show moves to ABC, Disney+ and Hulu this year after 54 years on CBS, Billboard noted in its interview with Mason.