Harvey Mason Jr., chief executive officer of the Recording Academy that presents the Grammy Awards, defended Thursday the new Best Asian Pop Music Performance category following K-pop supergroup BTS’ decision not to submit an entry for next year’s ceremony.
In a statement posted on the Grammys’ social media accounts, Mason said he was “saddened to hear” that the seven-member group, widely regarded as the world’s biggest boy band, would not participate in next year’s Grammy Awards.
“But as a music creator, I understand and respect their decision,” he said.
Mason also took the opportunity to “clarify something that seems to be getting lost in the conversation.”
“The Asian pop category was created to celebrate the depth, diversity and extraordinary growth of pop artistry coming out of Asia,” he said of the new category that was announced just last June.
“The spirit of this new category is to shine a dedicated spotlight on these important artists. More categories mean more artists’ work is recognized. It’s never to divide, but to expand who is recognized by our 15,000 Grammy voters,” he said.
Mason also stressed that submitting music in a “genre category” such as Asian pop “does not exclude” an artist from submitting entries or being considered for major awards such as Record of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year.
This statement comes a day after BTS said it would not submit their music to next year’s Grammys.
The septet had been widely tipped to be in the running for several of the Grammys’ top honors, including Album of the Year, after their comeback album, “Arirang,” became one of this year’s best-selling hits.
Despite performing at the Grammys and earning several nominations, including for Best Music Video, the “Dynamite” hitmakers have never won.
“Arirang,” named after a South Korean folk song, includes extensive English lyrics and explores themes that include Korean identity.
However, it would not have qualified for the best Asian pop music category, which requires entries to make “meaningful use” of at least one Asian language.
The Recording Academy said the new award aims to honor “artistic excellence in Asian pop music performances originating from or widely recognized within Asian markets, including but not limited to K-pop, J-pop and C-pop”.
The new category drew mixed reactions online, with some critics saying it boxes Asian artists into a separate category instead of recognizing them alongside global peers. — With a report from Agence France-Presse