Recording Academy to Reconsider Asian Pop Grammy Category After BTS Withdrawal
The Recording Academy will take criticism of its new Best Asian Pop Music Performance Grammy category "into deeper consideration" ahead of the 2027 awards, CEO Harvey Mason jr. said in a statement on Friday, August 14.
Mason's remarks come two weeks after BTS announced they would not submit their comeback album 'Arirang' for the 2027 Grammy Awards — the first time the group has skipped a Grammy entry. Rolling Stone and Reuters reported the decision in late July. BTS said in their statement that they hoped "that music can be heard and loved by itself rather than being divided by region or language."
The Recording Academy added the Best Asian Pop Music Performance category in June 2026 as one of five new categories taking effect for the 2027 Grammys, according to Grammy.com. The official description says it recognises artistic excellence in Asian pop music performances originating from or widely recognised within Asian markets — including but not limited to K-pop, J-pop and C-pop — with meaningful use of one or more Asian languages. The category applies to singles or tracks, vocal only, per Grammy.com's awards page.
Mason, who had previously defended the category as a way to celebrate more voices across the Asian music industry, according to the Associated Press, struck a different tone on Friday. He said that after "numerous conversations with many stakeholders over the past two weeks," some artists in the Asian pop space feel the category is not representing their music the way they wish. Rolling Stone reported his statement.
The friction touches a question the Grammys have faced before with genre-specific categories: does a separate award celebrate a community or wall it off from the main field? BTS's withdrawal gave that question its highest-profile test case, and Rolling Stone noted in late July that it remained unclear whether other artists would follow the group's lead.
Online entry for the 2027 Grammy Awards closes on August 21. First-round voting begins October 12, and nominees are announced November 16. The February 2027 ceremony will include the new Asian pop award category, Reuters reported.
Mason did not specify what changes, if any, the Academy might make to the category. His statement signals that the conversation is not closed — but with the entry window closing in a week, artists and the Academy are working on overlapping clocks.
