K-pop Earns Multiple Major Grammy Nominations... US Media Say "It's No Surprise"

K-pop Artists Like Rose and K-Pop Demon Hunters Nominated in Major Categories
Foreign Media: "Judges Have Begun to Recognize K-pop's Artistic Achievements"

At the Grammy Awards, the most prestigious event in the American popular music industry, K-pop artists have, for the first time in history, been nominated in a significant number of major award categories this year. Foreign media outlets have evaluated this as "K-pop finally being officially recognized in the mainstream music industry."

According to Yonhap News on November 7 (local time), citing the list of nominees for the 68th Grammy Awards announced by the Recording Academy, Rose of the group Blackpink was nominated in three categories, including "Song of the Year" and "Record of the Year," for her collaboration with Bruno Mars on the song "APT." (Apartment).

The original soundtrack "Golden" from the Netflix original animation "K-Pop Demon Hunters" was also nominated in a total of five categories, including Song of the Year. In addition, the girl group "KATSEYE," a joint project between HYBE and the American label Geffen Records, was nominated for Best New Artist, with K-pop filling the major categories across the board.

Netflix animation "K-Pop Demon Hunters," nominated in a total of five categories at the Grammy Awards. Netflix

This is the first time that K-pop artists have simultaneously entered the "General Fields" at the Grammys, which include Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Best New Artist. The BBC highlighted the historical significance, stating, "Rose is the first K-pop idol to be nominated in the 'Big Four' categories at the Grammys."

The Los Angeles Times analyzed, "Until now, K-pop was mainly discussed in terms of the size of its fandom, but these nominations mark a turning point, as the judges have begun to evaluate K-pop as an artistic achievement." The outlet also pointed out, "Although the Grammys showed interest in K-pop following the global success of BTS, there were still barriers in the core award categories," interpreting the recent nominations as evidence that these barriers have effectively been broken down.

Forbes also stated, "K-pop has had global influence over the past decade, yet has been undervalued at the Grammys," adding that while this change may be overdue, it is not a surprising result. In particular, both "APT." and "Golden" were among the most successful songs during the eligibility period, demonstrating strong musical competitiveness.

Meanwhile, some analysts suggest that this shift at the Grammys may be due to the increased diversity in the Recording Academy's membership. According to data released by the Recording Academy on November 3, among the more than 3,800 new music creators and professionals accepted as members, half are under the age of 39, 58% are people of color, and 35% are women.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.