New York Times Op-Ed Defends BTS's Decision to Withdraw from the Grammys

An opinion piece published in The New York Times regarding BTS withdrawing their submissions from the Grammy Awards is drawing significant attention.

On the 9th (local time), Dan Charnas, a professor at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University, published an op-ed in The New York Times titled "Pop Music Is the Problem," putting forth arguments in support of BTS's decision.

Previously, BTS voluntarily withdrew their hit album "Arirang" from Grammy consideration in protest of the Recording Academy's newly established Best Asian Pop Performance category. The group stated in a release, "We hope that music can be listened to and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language."

Prof. Charnas evaluated this as "an unusual rebuttal against the Grammys by a group that has long aimed for mainstream American stardom," noting that BTS and many fans view the new category as an attempt to prevent the growing influence of K-pop groups from overshadowing the general categories (Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance). This directly contrasts with the Academy's claim that the category was meant to recognize the growth of Asian popular music.

Prof. Charnas pointed out that the Recording Academy has expanded its award categories from 28 in 1959 to 100 today, stating that much of this increase is "the product of the recording industry's historical racial segregation, which split Black and white artists into separate genres and markets even when they performed musically similar songs." He mentioned examples such as the category being divided into Traditional and Contemporary just months after Beyoncé became the first Black woman to win Best Country Album, along with the creation of the Asian pop category following a major win by a song from "KPop Demon Hunters."

He continued by noting that "the largest Asian entertainment companies may not want to fight this system because they have many new rookies to debut," while evaluating that "BTS is likely the biggest artist in the world since Michael Jackson, and probably the only Korean musical group with the freedom and leverage to spark this kind of change."

Prof. Charnas also emphasized, "The Recording Academy should stop creating new award categories specifically based on race, nationality, or language. If a pop performance category or a pop playlist cannot be defined musically or aesthetically, maybe it shouldn't exist in the first place."

Meanwhile, debates have continued both inside and outside the American music industry following BTS's voluntary withdrawal of their Grammy submissions.

(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)