Grammy Awards' 'Asian Pop' and 'African Music' Categories: Segregation disguised as inclusivity

Following BTS’ statement announcing that they won’t submit their album, ARIRANG, or any of its songs for the 2027 Grammys, people are now asking more questions of the Recording Academy.

On July 29, 2026, the biggest group in the world, BTS, changed the trajectory of music with a statement they shared on their social media platform, Instagram. The statement revealed that the group would not submit the critically acclaimed and most successful album of their career, ARIRANG, for consideration at the 2027 Grammy Awards, as they believe that music should not be separated by language or region.

For many, this came as a shock, as this was the year the group was tipped to win their first Grammy after receiving multiple nominations over the years. For others, however, a statement as powerful as this could shape how many people view awards and recognition for years to come.

Many might wonder what BTS meant by saying that music should not be separated by language or region. Well, the answer can be traced as far back as June 2026, when the Recording Academy introduced the ‘Asian Pop Performance’ award, something similar to the ‘African Music Performance’ award.

What is the Asian Pop Performance described as?

Well, the Grammys described the award as one celebrating Asian artists and their music. They also categorically stated that the winner would be decided by their 'meaningful use of Asian language.'

'Meaningful use of Asian language?'

The juiciest part of the 'category' is that if you submit your song as an Asian artist in this category you can't submit your song in any other performance category, regardless of whether you are eligible or not.

The category was met with intense pushback from music experts who saw the handwriting on the wall; an award designated to box the biggest and the most global artist at the moment, BTS. An award announced after the release as well as the success of their album, ARIRANG, is no coincidence, as a clear and maybe unintentional picture had been painted; BTS will win the very first Asian Pop Performance award.

This view was not far-fetched given the worldwide acceptance of songs like 'Body to Body,' 'Hooligan,' '2.0,' 'Come Over,' and the song that directly tackles the racism they have faced as artists, 'Aliens,' all with Korean lyrics making such songs eligible for the category based on the description provided by the Recording Academy.

Some may say they do not need to submit these songs in this category, but what people do not know is that the Recording Academy have the authority to re-categorise your submission based on the category they deem appropriate for your music, an authority which Justin Bieber also challenged after his project was recategorised from R n B to Pop. This is also not the only blocker; if BTS submits any of these songs in the Asian pop performance category, it cannot be submitted for other performance categories, such as 'Best Melodic Rap Performance' or even 'Best Group/Duo Performance.'

What many, however, did not see coming was that the 7 men who have voiced how much they wanted music to be the tool that bridges the gap across the world regardless of the language or style will take charge and define how they want their music to be interpreted.

Where the problem lies

Asian pop is not a genre of language; Asia is a continent. Same as African is not a style or genre of music but a continent. The lines had obviously been drawn; music had been segregated based on the side of the world the artist submitting their work is from, unlike a case where artists from Africa had not pushed back against the award, the biggest artist from Asia had put their foot down and stated that they would not be the clown in the Recording Academy's circus.

This same case can be raised for the Best African Music Performance category as Africa is in n way a music genre but rather a continent that possesses artists who create different and beautiful styles of music that have managed to break the boundaries and maintain a position on the global stage.

The same applies to the Best Latin Song and Best Latin Album categories. These languages and continents do not need categories that have them competing amongst themselves; they already have their own award shows for that. For an award that positions itself as one that recognises the global music landscape, these categories tell a different story.

BTS' decision has called for more visibility on the core issue which is the Recording Academy creating categories whenever an artist or genre breaks out of the norms they have constructed to define music, rather than understanding it and viewing it as mainstream or the new direction music is taking they try to box it in a myopic category that shows just out of touch and out of mind they are when it comes to new era of music.

Would this lead to a change? Maybe or maybe not, but seeing one of the biggest global stars take a stance is a big step in the right direction.

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