Following BTS and Stray Kids, BLACKPINK Also Refrains From Submitting to Grammys... Raising Concerns of a "Watered-Down Grammy"

Following the boycotts by BTS and Stray Kids, BLACKPINK is also expected to sit out the upcoming Grammy Awards.

This comes as a united boycott front seems to be forming among K-pop camps after the Recording Academy, which hosts the Grammy Awards, announced the day before yesterday that it would push ahead with the establishment of a new Asian pop category.

BLACKPINK's album "Deadline," released last February, contains a total of 5 tracks. With the exception of "Run," all 4 tracks are entirely in English.

Even if music is by Asian artists, if the lyrics are predominantly in English, it cannot be submitted to the Grammy Asian pop category, and "Run" was submitted last year, making it ineligible for re-submission this year.

Previously in June, the Grammys announced the creation of the "Best Asian Pop Music Performance" category, which separately classifies music from Asian regions such as Korea, China, and Japan.

BTS declared a boycott, stating, "We hope that music can be heard and loved for what it is rather than being categorized by region or language."

Amid mounting controversy, the Grammys appeared to take a step back last August by stating they would reexamine the category. However, the day before yesterday, they made a final announcement that, following discussions with leaders of the Asian music community, voices supporting the new category were stronger and they would push forward with its establishment as planned without modifications.

The day after the announcement, yesterday, Stray Kids joined the boycott, stating they would not submit their music to the Grammy Awards.

The BBC explained that the boycott by Stray Kids, who have topped the Billboard album chart nine times, will deal a major blow to the Grammys' authority.

(Reported by Park Se-won | Video by Na Hong-hee | Graphics by Lee Jung-joo | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.