A Timeline of the Controversy Over the Grammys’ Asian Pop Music Performance Category
The discourse is still unfolding months later.
The Recording Academy introduced a new category celebrating best Asian pop music performance in the summer of 2027, sparking mixed reactions within the music world. Despite the significant attention generated when BTS announced they would not submit any music for the category, the launch of the best Asian pop music performance category actually occurred over a month earlier, on July 15.
Following the announcement, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. addressed concerns and weighed in on the matter, while other acts also voiced their opinions for and against the new category. The submission window for the category opened in July, and by the time first round voting commenced on October 12, the academy had already decided to proceed with the new addition.
The academy's rationale behind introducing the category was to provide more artists with opportunities for Grammy recognition and to emphasize that Asian artists would still be free to compete in the general categories. However, this decision did not quell the ongoing controversy surrounding the category. As the unveiling of the nominees for each category, including best Asian pop music performance, approaches, Billboard continues to monitor the timeline of events.
Written by urgent.news from Billboard's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
