The Recording Academy has confirmed that its new best Asian pop music performance category will go forward as originally planned at the 2027 Grammys. The announcement on Thursday (Oct. 1) was made just 11 days before the start of first-round voting, which determines the final nominees.
Over the past two months, the academy convened its board of trustees and awards & nominations committee alongside artists, executives and industry leaders representing the Asian music community. The academy characterizes these conversations as productive, “surfacing genuine enthusiasm for the category.” The academy points to two factors as evidence of what it calls “broad-based support for the category”: community feedback and the robust number of submissions the category garnered. That said, the academy allows that the category, like the other 99 categories on the ballot for the 2027 Grammys, is always subject to review. It says it has opened “an ongoing dialogue about how its rules and eligibility requirements can evolve over time.”
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“Over the past several weeks the Academy has been conducting listening sessions and have been in dialogue with leaders of the Asian music community,” Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason, jr. said in a statement released on Thursday (Oct. 1). “The journey has been rewarding and inspiring. Our organization is at its best when we engage deeply with music people and go the extra mile to understand their lived experiences.
“In this case, we heard candid feedback from people in our community who don’t support the continuation of this category. We also heard from people who didn’t have accurate information about the category, and having space to clear up misperceptions has been especially valuable. But by far, the loudest feedback we heard was from people who were enthusiastic supporters of the category, fellow music creators expressing their encouragement for keeping it.
“We understand this conclusion will not satisfy everyone, and that never feels good. But at the same time, we are confident it’s the right conclusion for the music community overall. As is the case with all our categories, we will continue to diligently engage with the music community and keep striving to honor this music — and all music — in the best possible way. We look forward to celebrating the Asian Pop Music Performance nominees at the 2027 Grammy Awards.”
First-round voting runs from Monday, Oct. 12 to Thursday, Oct. 22. Nominees will be announced on Monday, Nov. 16. Final round voting, to determine the winners, runs from Thursday, Dec. 10 to Thursday, Jan. 7. The 69th annual Grammy Awards will be presented on Sunday, Feb. 7.
The backstory on the category
On June 16, the academy announced five new categories, including best Asian pop music performance, and various rule changes for 2027. Seven weeks later, on July 29, BTS, the biggest K-pop act and arguably the biggest group in the world in any genre, announced it was not entering its recordings for the Grammys this year, as a form of protest against the new category. “We have decided not to submit to the Grammys this year,” a translation of the group members’ individual messages read. “I hope that music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language. Thank you to ARMY and everyone who is always with us.”
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In August, the academy convened its full board and awards & nominations committee to work with members of and leaders from the Asian pop community — representing K-pop, J-pop, C-pop, India and more — to help further advise them on the Asian pop category, with the goal of “honoring the music respectfully and accurately in this first awards cycle and determining how we best honor this music in the future,” according to the academy.
On Aug. 14, Mason released a statement saying: “The Grammy organization exists to serve all music people, and part of that is working to ensure that no voice or community gets overlooked or misunderstood. It’s clear from our numerous conversations with many stakeholders over the past two weeks that, regardless of our intent and desire to be even more inclusive, there are some artists in this space who feel that this category isn’t representing the music they work so hard to create, in the way they wish. As a musician myself, I take that to heart.
“Over the past six years, the Academy has shown that it can act decisively and move swiftly to meet the needs of our music community. The management and Board are committed to working together to keep pace with that progress and ensure the musicians we intend to honor feel truly seen and heard by our actions.”
Having had those extended talks, the academy has decided to go forward as planned for this first year and make any needed tweaks to the category next year as part of its annual review of all categories.
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Some of the objections may have been based on a misunderstanding
Some have criticized the new best Asian pop music performance category, which sits in the Pop & Dance/Electronic Field, fearing that it will lock Asian acts into a subcategory and deny them the opportunity to compete in the higher-profile General Field categories or in pop performance categories. The former fear is unfounded; all artists from all genres can compete in the General Field categories, which include album, record and song of the year and best new artist.
But it is true that a specific recording can compete in only one performance category. If a recording is entered for best Asian pop music performance, it cannot be entered for, say, best pop duo/group performance. The same act can, however, be nominated in multiple performance categories with different recordings.
After reviewing the submissions for the 69th annual Grammy Awards, the Recording Academy says that K-Pop, J-pop, C-pop and other forms of pop music widely recognized in Asia are not confined to the new best Asian pop music performance category. They are also represented in other categories, based on where that music meets the category criteria.
Here’s the Recording Academy’s official description of the new award:
“This category recognizes artistic excellence in Asian pop music performances. Eligible recordings include contemporary popular music originating from or widely recognized within Asian markets, including K-pop, J-pop and C-pop.
“Asian pop is a distinct and globally recognized form of popular music characterized by its integrated approach to music, performance, and presentation. Eligible recordings typically feature melody-driven composition, mainstream pop songwriting, and commercially oriented production, as recognized within their respective markets, and may incorporate elements of pop-adjacent styles such as pop-rock, pop R&B, and other related forms. Recordings in this category are often characterized by genre-blending arrangements, layered production, and dynamic structural shifts designed to support both audio and performance-based delivery.
“Recordings must feature meaningful use of one or more Asian languages. An Asian language should play a significant role within the song in bilingual or multilingual structures such that the recording is identifiable with that language. Recordings performed entirely in an Asian language are eligible. Incidental or minimal use (e.g., isolated words, ad-libs, or brief phrases) does not qualify. Recordings performed entirely in English are not eligible in this category and remain eligible in other appropriate categories.
“The musical style is determinative of eligibility, not the ethnicity or nationality of the performer(s).
“Other popular music forms which originate in Asia or the Asian diaspora but do not meet the genre criteria for this category are eligible in other categories as appropriate.
“Only one version of a recording is eligible in a performance category in any year. A recording which is eligible and entered in another performance category is not also eligible in Best Asian Pop Music Performance for a different version featuring an Asian language performance.
“Nominees are Artist(s).
“Grammy statuettes awarded to Artist(s).”
The academy reiterated its process for adding or changing categories:
- “The Recording Academy accepts proposals for new categories and other awards process changes from Voting and Professional Members year-round.
- “Each spring, the Awards & Nominations Committee, composed of Academy Voting Members of diverse genres and backgrounds, meets annually to review new category proposals and recommended updates to category definitions, procedures and eligibility guidelines. The proposals are debated and voted on by the Committee and those that pass go to the Board of Trustees.
- “The Board of Trustees votes on the new categories and other proposals in late spring at its semi-annual Board of Trustees meeting.
- “Proposals that are ratified by the Trustees go into effect immediately for the next Grammy Awards.
- “The Academy typically announces its new categories and rule updates annually in June.”
