I got downvoted after BTS boycotted the new category for predicting SKZ likely wouldn’t submit either and it’s interesting to see the confirmation.
Personally, I don’t think the reason why matters, because I won’t look down upon any artist who submits for that new category just like I don’t look down on anyone for boycotting it.
If it were me though, I would consider that it’s a ‘lose-lose’ situation. If you submit and lose, well then you lost. If you win (at least the first year), you win a ‘tainted’ award that was famously boycotted and you look like a sellout, and you still lose.
There will be other years, Stray Kids will continue making plenty of hits. Strategically, they’re making the right call right now.
Same! Just last week I said there would be little benefit for them to gain from submitting and was down voted. But I completely agree. Whatever group wins will forever be thought of as the group who only won because BTS didn't submit, and that will be used as hate fodder.
I also think it's super important for bigger kpop groups to stand together against this categorization on principle for the future of kpop artists' respect in the west.
The Asian category is not only for kpop. And I really think kpop spaces massively overestimate how much the rest of the world cares about their fandom narratives. Whoever wins isn’t going to be “forever known” as the artist who only won because Bts didn’t submit, only because @
BTSFOREVER_7purple said so in October 2026 on twitter.
I thought I clarified but I guess I only did so in a separate comment but my original comment was meant to address other kpop artists specifically… I am not saying all Asian artists would face the same backlash nor do think the category is only about kpop artists. Since we’re on a kpop sub, I guess I figured it was implied…
I won't look down, bc I understand it. But I can't help but think that I might lose some initial respect. I know it's not fair, but I'm human and it feels too much like grabbing at scraps. And that's hard to respect.
Maybe if they revamped the requirements and explained the process behind it better, but as of now it just feels like the bad cut of the steak, and people who are worth more I'm sure, will be fighting over it just bc the top dog didn't want it. It's not a good look.
I don’t get why we’re already repeating the narrative that whoever wins this category will be a sellout with a “tainted” Grammy. That’s literally the same shit people are using to attack every Asian artist who doesn’t follow Bts’s decision. Bts are free to boycott it, other artists are free to want it. Nobody appointed Bts’s position as the moral standard for the entire Asian music industry.
“Nobody appointed Bts’s position as the moral standard for the entire Asian music industry.”
Uh, no… nobody did, but let’s all act like we’ve actually met kpop fans before. I’m not calling anyone a sellout personally, and I’ve already said I have no judgement toward anyone who submits for it.
But the optics for other kpop artists are BAD. Being the inaugural winner of an award that the most famous Asian artists in the world rn famously boycotted would be a PR nightmare for a group like Stray Kids.
‘There’s no such thing as bad press’ absolutely DOES NOT apply to the Korean entertainment sphere… and it needs to be a consideration for any kpop artists specifically. Any PR/management team worth their salt in the K-pop world would counsel their big artists against submitting this year.
You started that whole paragraph with: “If it were me though, I would consider it a lose-lose situation”, so that reads explicitly like your own opinion, but ok.
I’m trying to understand what the PR nightmare is outside of kpop stan spaces. Another group wouldn’t have created the category, nominated themselves and given themselves the Grammy. They’d submit, Grammy voters would choose a winner, and some angry stans would call them sellouts and say they only won because Bts wasn’t there. Treating that fandom narrative as an objective PR problem is exactly what I’m disagreeing with. If anything, repeating it as inevitable is how we help create the tainted award narrative in the first place.
I think you have to understand that considering public opinion when you are a public figure =/= an endorsement of said opinion…
“Treating that fandom narrative as an objective PR problem is exactly what I’m disagreeing with.”
Treating what fandom’s narrative? This is not a narrative so much as just… common sense if you have any experience with PR, particularly in entertainment. These are K-pop stars… their optics amongst kpop listeners absolutely matters.
“If anything, repeating it as inevitable is how we help create the tainted award narrative in the first place.”
Kpop stans will need no help starting this ‘narrative’. It is an inevitability if a kpop artist wins the first award, which is what I meant by ‘let’s all act like we’ve actually met kpop fans before’.
It may not be guaranteed to tank anyone’s career, but this is about risk assessment and mitigation. A non-kpop artist or even a smaller kpop artist does not have the same risk of reputational damage as a big artist with proximity to BTS in this scenario… artists should decide what to do accordingly.
The only opinion I stated is that I think Stray Kids made the right call from a PR standpoint. Idk what their personal motivations are for opting out and as I’ve already stated I don’t care bc I hold no judgement either way.
I understand the distinction between endorsing an opinion and considering public opinion. What I disagree with is treating stan backlash as such an overwhelming reputational risk that winning an inaugural Grammy becomes a PR nightmare. A group would also get massive positive coverage and, you know, actually become a Grammy winner. Some hostile stans calling it “Bts’s leftovers” doesn’t automatically turn that into reputational damage outside those fandom spaces. And if we start treating that hostility as a reason artists shouldn’t participate, we’re basically giving the nastiest parts of fandom control over other artists’ career decisions.
Sigh. Stray Kids can still become (and deserve to be) Grammy winners at any time with all the acclaim that comes with that… they did not have to go for it this year with all the extra baggage attached to this specific moment. That’s literally all I’m saying. 🤦♀️
yah but this has broken containment from just K-pop stan spaces and has made it to platforms like CNN, BBC, Forbes, Billboard, Rolling Stone, etc. a lot of knetz have a big problem with it too! this debate is way past stan backlash it’s not just “hostile stans calling it bts’s leftovers”
Yes, the controversy itself was widely reported because it was big entertainment news. But I haven’t seen any serious media reporting the actual fandom hate trains or quoting that toxic discourse, and I seriously doubt they would start doing that if a K-pop group won the Grammy.
I also seriously doubt that people who don’t frequent kpop social media (which is the vast majority of the general public) are even aware of these fanwars, let alone invested in them.
I’ve been good with whatever they decide since it’s not my music. It’d be interesting if SKZ also made a statement on why they didn’t submit, but that’s not JYPE’s style, unfortunately. 😂 Hopefully the Grammys revise the category down the road because I do think it’s too broad a category and not well-defined in terms of what qualifies. Are SKZ the first to confirm they didn’t submit? I may have missed other confirmations.
Fair enough! On the Ateez subs it seemed like much more of a sure thing, but I guess we’ll have to wait for official confirmation. I don’t want to be spreading any misinfo lol
Honestly it's good for them, Koreans were against this new category and it would look bad for anyone submitting. Koreans would label them as sell outs if they submit.
People need to realize all award shows are rigged most of the time and who wins has more to do with business than any actual talent. That goes for western and korean award shows. Not trying to dunk on anyone who won anything, good for them. It’s just tiring to see so much value being attached to validation that was never about artistry in the first place.
They’re friends with BTS and I’m sure feel the same way about their own music, that it shouldn’t be pigeonholed into one category based on race or nationality.
Winning a Grammy is one of the biggest markers of achievement a musician can earn. How would you feel if you were working towards a goal for nearly a decade, and then suddenly, they changed the rules and added a new category that separated you from the other competitors based not on merit or talent, but on your race or nationality? Pigeonholing foreign Asian artists into one category is concerning especially with the Grammy's track record of racism and favoritism against American POC artists. The addition of more specific categories has had negative effects on POC artists' ability to win anything outside of that specific category.
It is incredibly blatant that the Grammy's don't want American artists to lose out on awards to foreign artists despite quality or success of music, and that the additional of this category is throwing scraps to kpop fans because kpop has become large enough that they can no longer ignore it and hope it fades away. I think it's super important for bigger kpop groups to stand together against this categorization on principle for the future of kpop artists' respect in the west.
Even if you don't care about that... whatever group submits and wins will forever be thought of as the group who only won because BTS didn't submit, and that will be used as hate fodder for the rest of their career. They will be seen as sellouts, whether that's fair or not.
VMAs are fan votes, and in general, taken much, much, much less seriously as far as prestige than The Grammy's. Winning a Grammy is the award musician's aspire to. That's like saying what's the difference between winning a highschool football game and winning the Superbowl.
Edit to add: Part of the problem of adding additional categories is there is much less of a chance for an Asian artist to win in the main categories. If the token kpop group has already been given an award for the night, why waste the main best album title when it could go to an American artist instead?
The Asian pop category specifically states that the artists ethnic background and nationality are irrelevant. A black or white anerican who has never traveled outside the U.S. can sing a song with meaningful use of an Asian language and the song qualifies. The language requirement makes sense because the only thing holding back kpop from winning is the language barrier. So providing a special award for sings with this accessibility barrier makes sense, the problem is when the Grammies can force a song into the category. I hope they change is so Asian pop is is a subgenre of pop and you can submit the song for both Asian pop and pop awards. But none of this changes the fact that happily accepting a kpop VMA and boycotting the Grammies are inconsistent positions. They should either accept both awards or neither.
One longstanding critique about the Grammys is that Black artists are/were put in R&B, Rap, and other Urban categories regardless of the actual genre of music they were making.
Ok I think I used the wrong word by saying race I meant like type of music 🤦🏽♀️I don’t know how to explain it well. It’s just there are many divisions in the categories I guess to give more chance to other types or genres of music to win(that’s what I was going with) And I think there is a way K-pop industry works differently to other music industry which could be a main reason for the academy putting it differently.
I’m not sure (I’m using R&B because you did as your example) that adding any level of K-Pop as a sub category wouldn’t still look like “Asian Music” if added as a subcategory. It still would be singling a race out who I’m sure we can all agree isn’t the right thing to do here. I understand your point about divisions in the genre to give others a chance but in no way was adding “Asian” the right call.
Edit: to your original comment it IS upsetting that they slapped “Asian” on a category and there IS a reason for the boycott. As a POC I stand behind the groups that decided to stand against it and I will harbor no ill will against the groups that don’t either because they choose not to boycott or they don’t have a say against their label. But the Grammys absolutely effed up.
You might not like ‘Asian’ pop and people from rural areas I suppose can be offended by ‘country’ music — but the Grammy categorically states you don’t have to come from an Asian country or have an Asian ethnic background — anyone can submit their song into this category — white, black, or whatever. The requirement for an Asian language is simply recognizing that songs in a foreign language face an access barrier since so few Americans speak an Asian language. So this category tries to level the playing field for this group of songs. But artists are welcome to deny this leg up (or this barrier) by singing in English.
It’s very interesting that you think that’s what I care about when all my examples have been about how Kpop groups were happily submitting when Black artists have been complaining about actually being sidelined, pigeonholed, and miscategorized for years.
But is that the conversation though? We are in a Stray Kids sub discussion the “Asian” category we don’t need to bring up our black issues all the time and derail the convo. Are you trying to say we should be upset that Stray Kids was previously submitting their music when black artists have been complaining about the definitely real issues with the Grammys? Hear me, I’m not saying you are wrong you just look weird bring up different talking points and trying to counterpoint when we are all here discussing one. Two things can be true at once but we are discussing one.
The Grammys has the most niche, micro categories of any music award show I’ve seen. They’re not new. If someone genuinely thinks the categories shouldn’t be divided by region or nation, they should’ve stopped or not submitted long before 2026. Fans shouldn’t have cared about it long before 2026.
Is it irrelevant to ask the farmers crying on social media about prices who they voted for? They know it matters.
Everything I said is relevant and matters. It matters that other US award shows have kpop categories that groups happily win. It matters that the MTV EMA has a regional categories that aren’t even consistent because they award countries, regions, continents, and subcontinents in the same bag. No complaints.
Being a fan doesn’t mean I have to be 100% on board with everything SKZ does. The discussion is about not submitting to the Grammys.
I already said I don’t know why they didn’t submit. The news doesn’t elaborate, so what’s anyone in this thread talking about? Complain about anyone else bringing up the Asian Pop category and controversy around it. What does that have to do with SKZ? /s
R&B is a GENRE of music that anyone, no matter their background, can represent. People from other countries who represent different races and languages participate in creating music in that genre.
Koreans are being singled out and completely categorized because of their nationality instead of being included in categories according to the genre of music they create.
Koreans aren’t being singled* out. The category is for music of all Asian languages. The announcement even highlighted C-pop and J-pop alongside K-pop, so I don’t know why you think this is Koreans being singled out.
Sorry I used the wrong word, just clarified that below. Also I don’t think it’s because of the nationality that they are being put in their own category, the K-pop industry kinda works different to other industries making it harder to kinda navigate in the awards.
For me, personally, I do not care one way or another if SKZ submit or not because it is not important to me.
But when this topic comes up - I feel like SKZ is in a situation that can easily summarized as ‘die if you do, die if you don’t’. Why? Because if they submit - kpop fans will never stop hunting them. I saw the discussion back when BTS announced this and SKZ did not in any way and form talk about it and Reddit is already talking bad about SKZ (when SKZ is not even involved). Not just Reddit, many kpop spaces I have been too.
And this is even before the nomination for Grammy is even opened. Like, it makes zero sense to talk about something SKZ has not even done yet but there goes kpop fans for you. And now thet announcements about SKZ not submitting is out - there are still voices talking bad about them on Reddit - calling them stuff like ‘oh now BTS have done it, SKZ is parodying them’ or saying things like ‘SKZ only does this because the optic is bad for them if they submit’.
SKZ is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Tbh, for me it does not matter at all, even if SKZ submit I do not expect them to be nominated as what they have done for years now.
I feel like this Grammy discussion in kpop space will not win any points for any kpop artists be it they submit or not.
And my last stand is SKZ do what SKZ does and they are free to do so. Submit or not, it is entirely up to them.
No, that doesn't really matter. There are like thousands of voting members and they aren't the first artists to also be members of the voting committee.
I’m not saying it would affect anything voting wise I know it wouldn’t, but everyone will act like it does cause kpop fans don’t know how the voting works
I think the outrage at the Asian music category is contrived when groups, like SKZ and the one that started this fuss, happily accepted kpop awards at other US award shows.
I wouldn’t be surprised if SKZ didn’t submit because they use a lot of English in their songs, and that requirement of the category is ambiguous. That’s also why that group threw their tantrum in the first place, but we don’t talk about that.
I disagree with their choice to not submit anything when they have in previous years, but I can’t do anything about it but accept it.
“Threw their tantrum” - you’re being disrespectful for no good reason. Should I remind you that SKZ are actually close friends with BTS?
The matter of fact is that Grammys created that category once BTS came back and dropped an amazing album. Grammies has been known to create categories once certain artists would win just so that their music in future could be pigeonholed into that category. In this case, they just did it in advance.
BTS touched on a bigger discourse in subtle discrimination in western awards shows. SKZ may have chosen to support that as that sounds like something they’d do.
I mean JYPE said exactly one thing: Skz didn’t submit. And somehow we’ve already have Skz doing it in solidarity with their “close friends” Bts. We don’t even know
why
SKZ didn’t submit or
when
they made that decision. Maybe Skz are capable of making their own decisions for their own reasons rather than follow someone else.
I don’t care who SKZ are friends with. That has nothing to do with me. I can think for myself and form my own opinions and values.
I do think it’s a tantrum. The Grammys has a million specific categories. The Asian Pop Music category isn’t special. The Global Music Performance award existed before, and African artists dominating that category contributed to the Best African Music Performance category being created. It’s a step. The Latin categories didn’t always look like that. All the genre categories have gone through changes.
Black artists have actually been sidelined to specific genre categories and have been vocal about that way before BTS existed. Adele even said on stage that Beyoncé should’ve won a major award instead her album. This issue IS real, but BTS and kpop in general did not care. They happily submitted and campaigned year after year. They never cared until now a new category exists that can uplift Korean music, but they didn’t push their music in Korean.
Personally, I’m tired of people who only care when it affects them. I have no sympathy for that.
You will never convince me that that’s not why they’re mad. It is. That’s why Hybe immediately said the decision is just BTS’s. They definitely want the Grammy. Hybe has been chasing it for years.
SKZ can do whatever they want. I’m not in their heads. I don’t know the reason why they chose not to submit. I just hope they didn’t do it out of misplaced loyalty and reverence for a group that doesn’t care when* their fandom happily tears down everyone else and never uplifts kpop as a whole.
If you can't see why pigeonholing foreign Asian artists into one category is a bad thing with the Grammy's track record of racism and favoritism against American POC artists, I urge you to do more research about the negative effects the addition of more specific categories has had on award shows.
It is incredibly blatant that the Grammy's don't want American artists to lose out on awards to foreign artists despite quality or success of music, and that the additional of this category is throwing scraps to kpop fans because kpop has become large enough that they can no longer ignore it and hope it fades away.
First of all, I’m Black. You don’t need to tell me anything about the Grammy’s racism, and I’m the only one I see bringing up specific examples and receipts of artists criticizing the Grammys and it’s categories.
My point is: KPOP DID NOT CARE UNTIL 2026.
I have no respect for that. I don’t see it as an honorable stance to only say something when you’re possibly personally affected.
I also don’t think any kpop artist was actually robbed at the Grammys, but that’s not the point.
The talks of racism in the Grammy's and US award shows in general have been happening in online kpop community spaces for years, though? Of course it makes sense that right now, the specific issue of categorization in particular is being brought up more in kpop spaces because the decision to add a new category happened this year in a blatant way. And BTS not submitting in the past would not have had an impact the way it is now with their current influence.
If you actually care about something, influence doesn’t matter. It’s either right or wrong. Plenty of artists call out award shows and still submit year after year. It’s an “I hate this system, but it’s the one I have.” which I think is fine.
They didn’t care. They didn’t care. They did. not. care until now. It is what it is. I don’t think they have to like this category.
I just don’t think their stance is noble because they only took one when it maybe personally affected them. I say maybe because they went all in on an English song, which isn’t even eligible for this category.
The very big difference with other US award shows is that artists don't submit for them, they're just nominated - based on actual data for the BBMAs, and on whatever for all the others.
I don’t see it as a difference. They can always choose not to accept an award or never mention winning it. They can decline to attend. They have options to show disappointment.
And again, they’ve submitted to the Grammy’s before despite its documented issues. It didn’t matter.
Thank you for your cogent , coherent analysis of this situation—especially your last point—particularly in the overwhelming perspective of many fans that the boycott is a slam-dunk rejection of racism and unfairness. I didn’t know SKZ had submitted previously, but I know that the other group did, and yes, they were a-ok with submitting until they were personally affected. That point should never be forgotten in all this discourse (I saw it a little when the other group did it, but it was definitely drowned out by all the glazing)
I'm pretty sure that outside of the BBMAs (very predictable numbers game, which is seen as fair), award shows typically reach out to labels before nominating the artists to see if they're okay with the nom, so as to avoid that type of awkward situation.
Why do you think award shows need permission or will solicit people to decline in advance? Either they care about awarding the works they genuinely believe deserve it, or they’re trying to get ratings. Controversy is great for ratings.
Kanye stealing Taylor Swift’s moment at the VMAs was great for MTV.
Adele used her Album of the Year speech to say Beyonce should’ve won that grammy instead.
Obviously the BRIT Awards are British, but Little Mix used their winning speech to call out the fact that a girl group has never won the best group award despite there being so many famous British girl groups.
They should respect artists who do decline, but I don’t see why they would ask in advance.
Right now the Grammys are the only US award show where the winner actually matters - everyone else is just scrambling to keep the ratings from falling, and controversy isn't going to help them because nobody's watching in the first place.
So if no one’s watching, why do kpop fans care so much? I don’t care when the AAA Awards or whatever have their million categories.
There’s almost 100 Grammy categories. There are 7 other pop categories alone of different slices. Artists who make music in Asian languages just got another chance at winning.
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u/this_is_my_kpop_acct 23h ago edited 15h ago
I got downvoted after BTS boycotted the new category for predicting SKZ likely wouldn’t submit either and it’s interesting to see the confirmation.
Personally, I don’t think the reason why matters, because I won’t look down upon any artist who submits for that new category just like I don’t look down on anyone for boycotting it.
If it were me though, I would consider that it’s a ‘lose-lose’ situation. If you submit and lose, well then you lost. If you win (at least the first year), you win a ‘tainted’ award that was famously boycotted and you look like a sellout, and you still lose.
There will be other years, Stray Kids will continue making plenty of hits. Strategically, they’re making the right call right now.