The Grammy Awards ceremony, which will take place next month, could be historic for the Korean music industry. For the first time, K-pop artists and projects created under the Korean idol training system have received nominations in the "big four" categories, where they were previously only featured as invited guests or performers. This was reported by AP, writes UNN.
Details
The most attention is drawn to Rosé, a member of the group Blackpink. She became the first K-pop artist nominated in the "Record of the Year" category for the mega-hit "APT.", created in a duet with Bruno Mars. The same song is nominated for "Song of the Year", where its competitor is the track "Golden" by the virtual group HUNTR/X from the soundtrack to the movie "KPop Demon Hunters".
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In addition, the group Katseye, created by HYBE Corporation (managers of BTS) according to the classic idol training model, has been nominated for "Best New Artist".
Discussions around the "purity" of the genre
Despite the success, experts debate whether these nominations can be considered a pure recognition of K-pop. Arem Jeong, an assistant professor of Korean studies at Arizona State University, calls it a "hybrid idea." According to her, the songs "APT." and the Katseye project are aimed at Western listeners and sound less authentic than local Korean products, which have been ignored by the award for years.
Although Rosé was trained in the K-pop system, and "APT." contains motifs of a Korean game, the song does not resemble a localized product. It is closer to global pop music
Key K-pop Grammy nominations for 2026:
Record of the Year: Rosé & Bruno Mars - "APT."
Song of the Year: Rosé & Bruno Mars - "APT."; HUNTR/X - "Golden"
Best New Artist: Katseye
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: Rosé, Katseye and HUNTR/X (competing against each other).
Until now, K-pop artists, including BTS, have only received nominations in secondary categories, but have never won a golden statuette.
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