While world-renowned BTS has taken a hiatus from group activities, their pursuit of the prestigious American music award, the Grammys, hasn't ceased. Will this be the year they achieve their Grammy dream?
Recent U.S. media reports highlighted that the secret voting for the nominees of the 66th Grammy Awards has begun, with a significant number of K-pop artists throwing their hats in the ring.
The Grammy Awards, boasting the highest prestige among U.S. music award ceremonies, is often mentioned alongside the 'American Music Awards' and 'Billboard Music Awards' as one of the top three U.S. music award shows. BTS, as a K-pop group, has been nominated for the Grammys for three consecutive years but has yet to secure a win.
Despite the hiatus due to members' mandatory military service, BTS's solo albums, along with Stray Kids, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, FIFTY FIFTY, and TWICE, have submitted their works, drawing attention to whether the formidable Grammy barrier will finally be breached by K-pop this year.
While BTS is on a group hiatus, their challenge for the esteemed 'Grammy Awards' as soloists continues. RM submitted his solo album 'Indigo' for the Pop Vocal Album category and its title track 'Wildflower Play' for both the Pop Duo/Group Performance and Music Video categories. Jin is challenging the Pop Solo Performance and Music Video categories with his song 'The Astronaut'.
Suga, under his pseudonym Agust D, submitted his solo album 'D-Day' for the Rap Album category and its title track 'Haegum' for both the Rap Performance and Music Video categories. J-Hope submitted his solo track 'On The Street' for the Pop Duo/Group Performance and Music Video categories. V submitted his solo album 'Layover' for the Pop Vocal Album category and its title track 'Slow Dancing' for both the Pop Solo Performance and Music Video categories.
Jimin and Jungkook, both of whom have achieved No. 1 on the Billboard 'Hot 100', have submitted 'Like Crazy' and 'Seven', respectively, for the Grammys' major categories of 'Record of the Year' and 'Song of the Year'.
Additionally, Jimin has challenged the Pop Vocal Album, Pop Solo Performance, Music Video, and Pop Duo/Group Performance categories. Jungkook has submitted 'Seven' for the Pop Duo/Group Performance and Music Video categories.
While they failed to win as a group, both artists have made significant impacts on the Billboard 'Hot 100', raising hopes for a Grammy nomination.
In addition to BTS members, K-pop teams that have achieved success on Billboard over the past year have also submitted their works for this year's Grammy Awards.
FIFTY FIFTY, currently in a dispute with their agency, is knocking on the Grammys' door for the first time. Their hit song 'Cupid', which stayed on the Billboard singles chart longer than any other K-pop girl group, has been submitted for both 'Record of the Year' and 'Song of the Year'. 'Cupid' gained immense popularity on various platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and U.S. radio stations.
Stray Kids, who achieved three consecutive No. 1s on the Billboard album chart 'Billboard 200', are challenging for Best New Artist. TWICE has submitted 'Ready To Be' for the Album of the Year category and their song 'Set Me Free' for both the Record of the Year and Song of the Year categories. TOMORROW X TOGETHER, often referred to as 'BTS's younger brother group', has submitted their songs 'Back For More' and 'Sugar Ride Rush' for the Pop Duo/Group Performance and Music Video categories, respectively.
The Grammy Awards, where artists submit their works for desired categories, are determined through a voting process by members of the Recording Academy. The first round of voting for the nominees will take place from the 11th to the 20th, with artists submitting their works in desired categories. The Recording Academy members then undergo a first secret vote, followed by a final secret vote to determine the winners.
The Grammy Awards, the most prestigious of the three major U.S. music award ceremonies, started in 1959 and is considered one of the most influential awards in the arts, alongside the Academy Awards for movies, the Emmy Awards for TV, and the Tony Awards for stage performances.
However, the 'Grammy wall' has always been high for K-pop. There have been consistent criticisms of the Grammys' conservatism, especially towards dance groups and Asian artists. Some have criticized the Grammys for rarely awarding non-white artists. Despite BTS's 'Dynamite' and 'Butter' achieving global hits in English and setting a new record with a cumulative 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 'Hot 100', they were only nominated for 'Best Pop Duo/Group Performance', raising questions.
Meanwhile, the Grammy Awards will present a total of six main awards, known as the General Fields, including the newly added Non-Classical Songwriter of the Year and Non-Classical Producer of the Year, along with Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist.
