▲ Establishment of Grammy's 'Asian Pop' Category
Affected by BTS's declaration of a boycott and other factors, submissions of K-pop music for the 69th Grammy Awards, set to be held next February, have turned out to be lower than in previous years.
In particular, while K-pop submissions for the newly established Best Asian Pop Music Performance category were limited to a small number, a large wave of J-pop stars have entered the race, drawing keen attention to the results.
Yonhap News reported that K-pop artists who challenged the Asian Pop category were limited to just four teams: girl groups IVE, KiiiKiii, and FIFTY FIFTY, along with singer Park Hyo-shin.
The so-called "Big Four" agencies—BTS's agency HYBE, SM, JYP, and YG—all chose not to submit entries for this category.
The Recording Academy, which hosts the Grammys, announced the creation of the Asian Pop category last June. However, BTS stated that they hope music can be heard and loved for what it is rather than being categorized by region or language, announcing they would not submit entries, after which K-pop star submissions remained minimal.
On the other hand, Japanese artists such as Utada Hikaru, King Gnu, Hitsujibungaku, Kenshi Yonezu, and YOASOBI submitted entries in large numbers, while Philippine idol group SB19 and Chinese-speaking star Jay Chou also threw their hats in the ring.
In other pop categories outside of Asian Pop, K-pop artists continued to submit entries.
In Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, reported entries include BLACKPINK member Jisoo's collaboration EYES CLOSED with pop star Zayn, ENHYPEN's Bloody Paradise, HYBE's U.S.-Korea joint girl group KATSEYE's Animal, NMIXX's collaboration Caution with Anderson .Paak, BLACKPINK member Lisa's World Cup song Goals featuring Anitta and Rema, and BLACKPINK member Jennie's collaboration Dracula with Tame Impala.
Additionally, KATSEYE, Park Hyo-shin, FIFTY FIFTY, and ATEEZ submitted entries for Best Pop Vocal Album, while ILLIT and KATSEYE submitted to Best Dance Pop Recording.
Jennie submitted Less than a Lover for the Best Pop Solo Performance category.
Furthermore, KATSEYE submitted entries for Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year respectively, aiming for nominations in the General Fields for two consecutive years following their nomination for Best New Artist last year.
Following a first round of member voting, the Recording Academy will announce the final nominees on November 16. The final winners will then be determined through final voting running from December 10 to January 7 of next year.
The 69th Grammy Awards ceremony will take place on February 7 of next year at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, USA.
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