Grammys Keep ‘Asian Pop’ Category Despite BTS Boycott

An empty awards stage under golden lighting with a trophy resting on it

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As of October 2, 2026, the Recording Academy, the organization behind the Grammys, has confirmed it will go ahead with its new Asian Pop category at the 69th Grammy Awards. BTS had objected and said it would skip next year's submissions, prompting a review, but after hearing from the music industry the Academy decided to keep the category.

5New Grammy categories announced in June

69thGrammy ceremony where Asian Pop debuts

3 awardsWhat BTS won at the MTV VMAs on Sept. 27

Key points

The Recording Academy announced on social media on Thursday, Oct. 1 (U.S. time) that the Asian Pop category will proceed as planned at the 69th Grammys.
It is one of five new categories announced in June, covering contemporary pop from Asian markets, including K-pop, J-pop and C-pop (Mandarin-language pop).
A substantial portion of a song must be in an Asian language, and tracks with all-English lyrics are not eligible.
In July, BTS publicly objected to dividing music by region and language and said it would not submit anything to next year's Grammys.

On Thursday, Oct. 1 (U.S. time), the Recording Academy, which runs the Grammys, said in a social media post that the Asian Pop category (officially Best Asian Pop Music Performance) will go forward at the 69th Grammy Awards as planned. In a statement to U.S. media, CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said the Academy had spent recent weeks talking with people across the Asian music community.

Mason said some voices opposed keeping the category, but the loudest were fellow creators who wanted it to stay. He acknowledged that the Academy can't please everyone, stressed that the call was made for the music community as a whole, and added that the Academy will keep checking in with the industry on how the category is run, as it does with others.

The category is one of five new awards the Academy unveiled in June. The others are Latin song, traditional pop vocal, R&B collaboration and traditional folk album. Asian Pop covers K-pop, J-pop and Chinese-language C-pop, among others, and requires a meaningful amount of an Asian language in the song. Songs performed entirely in English are out.

BTS announced in July that it wouldn't participate, setting off a major debate. According to Dong-A Ilbo, one of Korea's major dailies, Variety criticized a setup that pushes non-Western music into genre-specific silos instead of the main awards, while Forbes said it effectively creates a separate track that splits Asian music off from the main categories. The same report said BTS took three awards at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 27, including Song of the Year for "SWIM," the title track of its new album "Arirang."

In Korea right nowKorean media are covering BTS's opt-out and the Academy's decision as one continuing story. The progressive daily Hankyoreh read BTS's choice as a challenge to Western-centric thinking that goes beyond pop music, while Dong-A Ilbo said the group's VMA wins lent weight to its stance. With K-pop's presence growing worldwide, how awards shows treat it has become a major concern for Korean fans and the industry.

FAQ

Which songs can be nominated for the Grammys' Asian Pop category?

Contemporary pop from Asian markets, including K-pop, J-pop and C-pop. A song must make meaningful use of an Asian language, and tracks with all-English lyrics are excluded.

Won't BTS submit anything in this category?

BTS said in July that it wouldn't submit anything to next year's Grammys. Reports haven't confirmed any change in its position since the Academy's decision to keep the category.

Why did the Academy decide to keep the category?

CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said that after hearing from the industry, the loudest voices were creators who supported keeping it.