The CEO of the Recording Academy in a statement confirmed that the Grammy Awards’ Asian pop category will debut in 2027 as planned.
‘Over the past several weeks the Academy has been conducting listening sessions and have been in dialogue with leaders of the Asian music community. The journey has been rewarding and inspiring,’ Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said in a statement obtained by Variety. ‘Our organization is at its best when we engage deeply with music people and go the extra mile to understand their lived experiences.’
‘In this case, we heard candid feedback from people in our community who don’t support the continuation of this category. 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,’ he continued.
‘We understand this conclusion will not satisfy everyone, and that never feels good. 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,’ he added. ‘We look forward to celebrating the Asian Pop Music Performance nominees at the 2027 Grammy Awards.’
Previously, Mason had suggested the new category was being reconsidered after the plan announced in June stirred up controversy. BTS took a stand one month later, saying it would not submit its music for consideration at the 69th Grammy Awards: ‘We hope music can be heard and embraced for what it is, beyond region or language.’
The septet has been nominated for Grammys but has never won, although its fifth LP ‘Arirang’ is expected to be a strong candidate. All the group’s bandmates are voting members of the Recording Academy, as is Bang Si-hyuk, the founding chairman of their label Big Hit Music.
The album has remained on the Billboard 200 for six months, having topped the chart for three weeks.