[Sportschosun, Baek Ji-eun] The petty behavior of the Grammy Awards has come under fire.
As of the 31st, performance videos of BTS's "Dynamite" and "Butter" had disappeared from the official Grammy Awards website. Some claimed that the Grammy Awards had removed all performance videos from the 2021 and 2022 ceremonies at once. However, because this came just two days after BTS declared a boycott of the Grammy Awards, suspicions were raised that it was a retaliatory move.
That was not all. Gina Koda, known as an industry figure in brand entertainment marketing, posted a statement on her account on the 30th regarding the creation of the Grammy Awards' "Best Asian Pop Music Performance" category.
Introducing herself as one of the people who strongly pushed for the new category, she said, "The intention behind creating this category was to give it the Academy's highest level of respect. It was meant as the first step toward a bigger direction that would give more voice and power, but we were brought down by one of the biggest Asian artists. Instead of chasing headlines, there could have been more meaningful backchannel conversations to understand what the real purpose was. It's disappointing. I wonder whether we can truly come together."
She added, "It is a newly created category and the first year, so it cannot be perfect. BTS has always been eligible to submit to other pop categories. This category was for artists who needed more spotlight, and securing representation was the real mission."
In June, the Grammy Awards launched a category dedicated to Asian pop and said it would separately select winners from works that meaningfully used one or more Asian languages, including K-pop, J-pop, and Chinese pop.
However, the announcement came just two months before the Grammy submission deadline. Since BTS's fifth full-length album, "Arirang," and its title track "Swim" were songs with lyrics entirely in English, criticism emerged that the new category was a trick to block BTS from winning.
In response, BTS announced a boycott on the 29th, saying, "We have decided not to submit any works to the Grammys this year. We hope music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language."
Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Grammy Awards, then said on the 30th, "I was saddened to hear that BTS had decided not to participate. The Asian pop category was created to highlight the depth, diversity, and excellence of pop artistry coming out of Asia. It is meant to spotlight important artists, not to separate them. Submitting music to a genre category does not exclude it from the main categories. Artists can compete in both."
The 69th Grammy Awards, without BTS, will be held on February 7 next year.
Baek Ji-eun, silk781220@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
