Does K-pop need the Grammys? BTS’ boycott reignites debate

For Asian musicians, the Grammy Awards represent the ultimate dream and recognition of success in the global music industry long dominated by their Western counterparts. When BTS, widely regarded as the world’s most famous Asian pop act, decided not to submit their music for consideration at next year’s Grammys in an apparent protest against the creation of a new best Asian pop music performance category, it created a dilemma for their K-pop and regional peers. Should K-pop and Asian pop artists embrace the category or should they follow BTS’ lead, thus giving up a chance to win the world’s biggest music award? In a social media message announcing their decision last month, the seven-member supergroup wrote: “We hope music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language.” BTS have received six Grammy nominations to date – thrice in the best pop duo/group performance category and one each in the album of the year, best music video and best recording package categories – and lost all of them. The best Asian pop music performance category covers various genres of Asian music including K-pop, J-pop and C-pop. Its introduction ahead of the award show in Los Angeles in February has drawn criticism from Asian music fans and industry figures who argue that non-Western artists should not be placed in a separate Grammy category. The controversy has raised questions of whether the category represents genuine recognition by The Recording Academy, the organisation behind the awards, of the rise of Asian artists or a consolation prize to shunt them away from winning the most prestigious categories. The academy’s CEO Harvey Mason Jnr responded by saying the category was created to celebrate the “depth, diversity and extraordinary growth” of pop music coming out of Asia. “More categories mean more artists’ work is recognised,” he wrote, adding that submitting music in a genre category would not prevent an Asian artist from also being considered for the record of the year, album of the year or song of the year categories. As a genre, K-pop secured its first-ever Grammy win in February when “Golden”, from the Netflix hit film KPop Demon Hunters, won best song written for visual media. It failed to win in the song of the year, best pop duo/group performance and best remixed recording categories. In the same event, Rose from K-pop girl group Blackpink made history by becoming the first female K-pop artist to receive a Grammy nomination. She was nominated for record of the year, song of the year, and best pop duo/group performance alongside American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars for their smash hit “APT”, but they did not win in any of the categories. Decision time for K-pop Following the BTS boycott, attention turns to whether other K-pop artists will submit their names and works for consideration by the academy before the deadline on Friday. Hybe, which represents BTS, said the band’s decision did not apply at the agency-wide level. “If other artists under our agency wish to submit entries, we plan to proceed with the submissions as scheduled,” Hybe said. Stray Kids, one of the biggest K-pop boy bands in recent years, were asked about the Grammys at a press conference earlier this month. Rather than reveal whether they planned to submit their names to the academy, the members emphasised that their music was independent of any awards. “We’ve never once set out to make an album chasing a particular award or record,” said Seungmin, singer of the eight-member band. “It’s less about outside expectations around awards and more about capturing the sound and story we want to tell.” An executive at a major entertainment label in Seoul, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told This Week in Asia that BTS’ decision “shocked everyone” in the industry. “BTS have such influence that it is making other groups and agencies think twice about the Grammys’ latest decision,” the source said. “There are business interests that may eventually persuade agencies to pursue the award, but it’s clear that BTS’ decision has given the industry something to think about.” Controversy lingers on Supporters of the new category have expressed unhappiness about the extensive attention given to the controversy. Zeena Koda, a co-founder of Asian American Collective and a member of the Recording Academy’s Gold Music Alliance core committee, said in a social media post that she was among the Asian representatives who pushed for the creation of the category. The aim was “to bring visibility for Asians in the Grammys, none of which has existed before”, Koda said. The category was never intended by those who proposed it to be a contentious issue, she added. Critics, however, argue that the category smacks of tokenism by grouping artists by region. “I often count the number of person of colour/Asian nominees in a book prize longlist, and when I see just one, I can tell immediately it was the token pick,” said Anton Hur, one of the co-translators of the Beyond the Story: 10-Year Record of BTS best-selling book, in a separate social media post. “BTS was always being used to shore up viewer numbers for the Grammys.” Korean pop critic Kim Do-heon, a member of the Korean Music Awards’ selection committee, described BTS’ announcement in a social media post as “a highly effective strategy” that had “stirred up public opinion and exploited the weaknesses of the [Grammy] awards ceremony”. Kim also said the BTS debate should become “a starting point for a discussion about what Asian pop actually means”. A question of validation BTS are not the only artists to have boycotted the Grammys. American singer-songwriter Frank Ocean, Canadian rapper and singer Drake and Canadian singer-songwriter and record producer the Weeknd have previously refused to submit their music for consideration due to concerns about the awards’ voting process and what they considered to be discrimination against artists of colour. The question now is whether BTS’ decision will have any lasting effect on the K-pop industry. Kim Sung-hwan, another member of the Korean Music Awards’ selection committee, said the main problem was that the academy did not explain clearly what “Asian pop” meant before introducing the category. “If the academy intends to boost the profile of K-pop acts, it would have been better to explicitly recognise K-pop as a genre and create its own category,” he said. Other major US music awards, including the Billboard Music Awards, American Music Awards and MTV Video Music Awards, have K-pop categories. Kim said he doubted other K-pop artists would push through with a similar boycott. Whether this happens is a moot point, as the global success of K-pop – particularly BTS – shows that there is no need for top artists of the genre to win a major international music award for validation, according to Kim. “There is a certain level of pride with BTS now. Even if BTS doesn’t win, BTS is still BTS to people around the world. The group itself has become a source of national pride.”