What Will the Grammys' Asian Pop Look Like Without BTS, Stray Kids and BLACKPINK?

BTS, Stray Kids and BLACKPINK are all set to be absent from the first year of the Grammys' new Asian Pop category, raising questions about how representative the award will be of the music it was created to recognize. With several of the biggest names behind K-POP's global rise missing from the race, the first nominee lineup could instead give greater prominence to established J-pop and C-pop acts and artists from other Asian markets.

The lineup will also provide an early test of what the Grammys' definition of "Asian Pop" looks like in practice — and how closely it reflects the Asian pop music being heard around the world today. The Recording Academy is moving forward with the category despite months of debate, including criticism from BTS over dividing music by region and language.

The Recording Academy announced Oct. 1 that Best Asian Pop Music Performance will be presented as planned at the 69th Grammy Awards. First announced in June, the category covers contemporary pop music originating in or widely recognized across Asian markets, including K-POP, J-pop and C-pop. The first nominees will be announced in November.

The announcement drew criticism, most notably from BTS. In July, all seven members posted the same statement saying they would not submit their music for this year's Grammys. They said they hoped music could be heard and loved for what it is rather than divided by region or language.

The Recording Academy later agreed to review the category and consulted members of the Asian music community. It ultimately said the strongest feedback it received was in favor of keeping the award and that a robust number of submissions had been received. The Academy decided to move forward without changing the eligibility rules.

BTS will not be the only major K-POP group missing from the race. Stray Kids were recently confirmed to have submitted no music for this year's Grammys, although their decision should not be read in the same way as BTS'. JYP Entertainment confirmed that the group did not submit an entry but gave no reason, and Stray Kids have not publicly linked the decision to the new category.

BLACKPINK is a different case, with the group's absence largely coming down to eligibility. A song must make meaningful use of at least one Asian language to qualify for Best Asian Pop Music Performance. Bilingual or multilingual songs can qualify, but a few words, ad-libs or short phrases are not enough, and songs performed entirely in English are ineligible.

That rules out four of the five tracks on BLACKPINK's latest EP, "DEADLINE," which are entirely in English. "JUMP," the only track on the album to use Korean, faces a different issue. The song was first released as a digital single in July 2025 and was already submitted for the 68th Grammy Awards. Under Grammy rules, a recording entered as a single or track the previous year cannot become eligible again simply because it later appears on an album released during the next eligibility period.

The members' solo releases offer few alternatives. Jennie's recent releases during the eligibility period are in English, while Jisoo's "AMORTAGE," which includes Korean-language songs, came out before the eligibility window. Lisa's Thai-language "SaWaDiKa" arrived after it closed, and Rosé had no major new solo release during the period that would qualify.

Being a K-POP artist, then, does not automatically make a song "Asian Pop" under the Grammys' definition. The Recording Academy says eligibility is based on the music rather than an artist's race or nationality, but it also requires meaningful use of an Asian language. That means a Korean artist can release a song widely considered K-POP but still be ineligible for the Asian Pop category if it is entirely in English.

The new award does not prevent Asian artists from competing elsewhere at the Grammys. Songs entered in Asian Pop can still be considered for the General Field, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year, as well as other categories when eligible. The Recording Academy has said the award is intended to give greater recognition to Asian music and its creators as K-POP, J-pop, C-pop and other Asian pop markets continue to grow globally.

The debate is therefore not simply about whether Asian artists have access to the Grammys' biggest awards. BTS has made its position clear, while the Recording Academy argues that a dedicated award can give Asian music greater visibility. The disagreement comes down to how music that already crosses national and linguistic boundaries should be recognized without defining it by those same boundaries.

Only a few years ago, much of the conversation around K-POP and the Grammys centered on whether Korean artists could earn nominations at all, and whether one might eventually win. Now, the Grammys have created an award specifically for Asian pop, shifting the question from whether K-POP can make it into the Grammys to what the Grammys itself considers "Asian Pop."

That answer will become clearer when the first nominees are announced in November. With several of K-POP's most globally prominent acts out of the race, the lineup will show which artists and sounds come to represent the Grammys' first attempt at defining Asian pop as an award category.