The Recording Academy, which organizes the Grammy Awards, may reconsider its decision to create an Asian Pop category after BTS declared a boycott of the 69th Grammy Awards over the new category.
Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, said in a statement that the organization exists for all musicians. "The Grammys exist for all music people, and part of that purpose is to make sure no voice or community is overlooked or misunderstood," he said.
"After many conversations over the past two weeks with a wide range of stakeholders, one thing has become clear," he continued. "While our intent and desire was to create a more inclusive awards show, some artists feel this category does not properly represent the music they have worked so hard to create in the way they want it represented. As a music person myself, I take those voices seriously."
Mason also said the Recording Academy has shown over the past six years that it can act decisively and move quickly to meet the needs of the music community. "Our management and board will work together to keep pace with this change and to ensure that the musicians we seek to honor feel, through our actions, that they are truly respected and that their voices are being properly heard," he said.
The Recording Academy stirred controversy in June when it announced the creation of a "Best Asian Pop Music Performance" category. The category covers Asian pop genres including K-pop, J-pop (Japanese pop music) and C-pop (Chinese pop music), and eligible entries must use at least one Asian language.
BTS's fifth studio album "ARIRANG," released this March, is eligible for consideration at the 69th Grammy Awards, which covers works released between August 31 of last year and August 28 this year. However, BTS declared it would not submit the album to the 69th Grammy Awards, to be held next February, drawing attention across both the music and broader cultural worlds. On the 29th of last month, BTS members said via the social media platform Instagram that they had decided not to submit their work to this year's Grammys. "We hope music can be heard and loved as music itself, rather than being divided by region or language," they said.
Some in the music industry believe the Grammys created the Asian Pop Music category to exclude BTS from its major awards — Song of the Year, Album of the Year and Record of the Year — and that BTS declared the boycott in protest of that policy. On the 30th of last month, one day after BTS's message was made public, Mason said he was saddened to hear that BTS had decided not to participate in this year's Grammy Awards process but that he understood and respected their decision as music creators. "This was never meant to divide, but to expand what the 15,000 Grammy voters recognize," he said. He added that submitting music to a genre category such as Asian Pop, jazz or country does not disqualify a work from being submitted to and judged in the General Field categories, which include Record of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year. "Those categories are open to all eligible recordings regardless of genre, and winning in a genre category and winning in the General Field are not mutually exclusive," he said.
The Grammys' move to reconsider the Asian Pop category is seen as stemming from continued fallout over BTS's boycott. According to U.S. outlet Variety, following BTS's boycott declaration, Grammy officials held discussions with artists and industry figures representing K-pop, J-pop and C-pop. They were also reported to be busy preparing measures, including convening the full board and the awards and nominations committees to consult with members and key figures in the music community.
