The Recording Academy is talking to members of the Asian pop community about its new best Asian pop music performance category, which, in an extraordinary move, may be re-conceived for the 2027 awards. (There’s little time remaining: First-round voting begins on Oct. 12. Nominations will be announced on Nov. 16.)

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Best Asian pop music performance was one of five new categories that were announced on June 16. But on July 29, BTS, the biggest K-pop act and arguably the biggest group in the world in any genre, announced that they were not entering their 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 their 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.”

Over the past two weeks, Harvey Mason, Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy and MusiCares, and other leaders at the Grammy organization have been engaged in regular dialogue about the new category with various members of the music community representing K-pop, J-pop, C-pop, India and more, including musicians, labels, managers “and even HYBE,” according to the Academy.

Now the Academy is convening its full Board and Awards & Nominations Committee to work with members of and leaders from this community 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.

“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,” Mason said in a statement on Friday (Aug. 14). “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.”

Furthermore, in the wake of this episode, the Academy says its full Board and Awards & Nominations Committee will evaluate whether it is time to update the process when it comes to how the Academy develops new categories and awards. “Now that we’ve crossed the threshold of 100 Grammy categories, it’s time for us to consider how we evolve our efforts,” an Academy rep says.

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In the past, the Academy has opted for a highly confidential, hush-hush process so that news about the new categories is newsworthy even to people who are well-informed. Going forward, they may instead make the process more transparent and open. They would lose the element of surprise when the new categories are announced, but they hope to avoid blow-ups like this where a change was not well understood or well received.

Industry veteran Ruby Marchand is the academy’s chief awards & global industry officer. Joanna Chu is vp, awards. Here’s a current list of key academy executives.

The Academy further revealed that several of its Gold Music Alliance volunteers — the reps who represent the Asian music community — have been “bullied and threatened by social media users who believe they were involved in the category’s creation, when in reality, the category was determined through the annual Awards & Nominations process.”

The tone of Mason’s comment today is similar to the tone of his July 29 statement about the controversy. “I am saddened to hear that BTS has chosen not to participate in the Grammy Awards process this year, but as a music creator, I understand and respect their decision,” he said then, adding, “I do want to clarify something that seems to be getting lost in the conversation. The Asian Pop category was created to celebrate the depth, diversity and extraordinary growth of pop artistry coming out of Asia. The spirit of this new category is to shine a dedicated spotlight on these important artists. More categories mean more artists’ work is recognized. It’s never to divide, but to expand who is recognized by our 15,000 Grammy voters.

“I also want to be very clear: submitting music in a genre category such as Asian Pop, or Jazz or Country does not exclude an artist from also submitting and being considered in the General Field categories, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year. Those categories remain open to any eligible recording, regardless of genre. Recognition in a genre category and recognition in the General Field are not mutually exclusive. An artist can absolutely pursue both.

“The Grammy organization is here to serve music and all the people who make it. As we continue to expand the reach, our membership and our awards, regardless of geography or language, I want to emphasize that we will continue to listen to the global music community and work to honor and celebrate all the artists whose music moves the world.”

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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.

The Recording Academy’s description of the new award, as it stands now, reads:

“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).”

Stung and seemingly blindsided by the reaction to this category, the Academy reiterated its process for adding a new category:

  • “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.”