Despite the global popularity of K-pop, the wall of the ‘Grammy’ was high.

As the final list of nominees for the 67th Grammy Awards, recognized as the most prestigious award in the popular music industry, was announced, K-pop artists failed to be nominated for ‘2 years in a row’. Despite their outstanding performances this year, the results did not reflect their achievements at all, leading to sharp criticism from global music fandom and foreign media outlets, saying that they “snub K-pop.”

According to the Recording Academy, which hosts the Grammys, on the 9th (Korean time), BTS’s RM, Jimin, J-Hope, V, and Jungkook, as well as Blackpink’s Lisa and Twice, who each submitted solo songs to the awards ceremony, were not nominated for the final categories. With this, K-pop has not been nominated for a Grammy for the past two years after BTS was nominated for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022.

The Grammy Awards are held where artists nominate their works for the categories of their choice, and the final nominees and winners are selected through voting by Recording Academy members. Despite some analysis that this is due to the absence of BTS and BLACKPINK, which have high international recognition, most reactions are that “K-pop‘s exclusion is incomprehensible.”

USA Today mentioned ‘K-pop’ along with Dua Lipa and Megan Thee Stallion in an article titled ‘Stars Who Should Have Been Nominated for the 2025 Grammy Awards But Were Left Out’. The media outlet said, “After BTS, K-pop flourished in the US, with groups like Tomorrow x Together, BLACKPINK, and Seventeen achieving enough success to fill stadiums. However, the Grammys still haven’t given K-pop a place,“ he pointed out.

Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter cited Blackpink member Lisa as a star who was ”snubbed“ in this year‘s nominations, reporting, ”Lisa was in the running for Best New Artist but almost missed the chance to become the first K-pop artist in the category.“ Gold Derby also criticized the fact that BTS, who set various new records with their solo activities, were all eliminated, saying, ”K-pop is not being taken seriously at the Grammys.“

Meanwhile, this is also a contrast to the other four major North American pop music award ceremonies, the MTV Video Music Awards (MTV VMAs), the American Music Awards, and the Billboard Music Awards.

At the MTV VMAs held in September, Seventeen, Lisa, and Seraphim won awards, and Lisa and Seraphim even performed on stage at the awards ceremony. Stray Kids was the second K-pop singer to have a solo performance after BTS at the American Music Awards 50th Anniversary Special Stage held on the 7th of last month.


Reporter Yoo Ji-hye yjh0304@donga.com