The Recording Academy will move ahead with its new Best Asian Pop Performance category despite a wave of criticism over how the award was structured, CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said, acknowledging that "we understand this conclusion will not satisfy everyone."
The category, announced as part of the eligibility changes for the 69th Annual Grammy Awards, is set to be presented for the first time at the 2027 ceremony. It marks the first Grammy field dedicated specifically to Asian pop music, a genre whose global commercial reach has grown sharply over the past decade through acts like BTS, BLACKPINK and their successors.
The backlash centered on the category's eligibility rules, which critics argued were drawn narrowly enough to exclude some of the biggest names in the genre. Fans and industry observers pointed out that the definition of "Asian pop" left out artists from certain countries and pushed some of the most commercially successful acts into other categories.
Mason's statement is the Academy's first direct response to the criticism since the changes were unveiled. In confirming the category would proceed, he conceded that the decision would not please everyone — a rare public acknowledgment of internal disagreement from the organization's top executive.
The Academy has spent years trying to address long-running complaints about the Grammys' treatment of non-English-language and non-Western music. The show's voting body was expanded in recent years, and the Academy has added categories for African music and other regional genres as global streaming has reshaped the industry's revenue map.
Asian pop's commercial footprint is now substantial. K-pop releases regularly debut atop the Billboard 200, and touring acts from South Korea, Japan and elsewhere fill stadiums across the United States and Europe. That growth has fueled demands that the awards show reflect where listeners and revenue have moved.
Adding a category does not guarantee the outcome critics want. Grammy nominations are decided by the Academy's voting membership, and the new field's screening committee will determine which submissions qualify as Asian pop. How those lines get drawn in the first cycle will likely determine whether the category satisfies the artists and fans who pushed for it.
The 69th Grammy Awards, the first cycle under the revised rules, will be held in 2027.
