Amid growing controversy surrounding the decision of BTS to skip the Grammys, an explanatory post shared by an industry insider who claimed involvement in introducing a new Grammy category has sparked backlash in overseas online communities.
Gina Coda, known as a brand and entertainment marketing industry insider, posted her stance across three Instagram Stories on the 30th regarding the controversy over the new Grammy category "Best Asian Music Performance." It was in the form of a personal social media story rather than an official statement, and the account is currently set to private.
Introducing herself as one of the individuals who pushed to establish the "Best Asian Music Performance" category within the committee, she claimed, "It has become a media campaign based on a narrative completely unrelated to the purpose for which this category was created."
She continued, explaining, "The intention was to honor it at the highest level of the Academy. We know pop is not the only category where Asian artists exist, but this was intended as a first step in a broader direction to give us more voice and power."
She also directly expressed disappointment regarding the decision made by BTS. She wrote, "We were torn down by one of the biggest Asian artists. It is unfortunate that rather than taking a bold action aimed at generating buzz, there could have been more meaningful behind-the-scenes conversations to understand what the actual intent was," adding, "It makes me question whether we can truly unite as one."
In particular, she emphasized that the newly established category was not meant for BTS. Pre-facing that "this is a newly established category and its first implementation, so it cannot be perfect," she elaborated, "BTS has always been eligible to apply in other pop categories. It was for artists who needed more spotlight, which simply didn't exist before, and securing representation was a true mission for many of us."
Many music fans responded that they could not agree with this explanation.
Counter-arguments followed that since BTS is already an artist with five Grammy nominations and multiple Billboard main chart toppings, there was no need to grant visibility through a separate category. In particular, criticisms were raised that the category's standard of "Asian pop," which is difficult to divide by specific languages and cultures, lacks realism. Some BTS fans suspected that the timing of the new category announcement—right after the full-group comeback and album success of BTS, and just two months before the Grammy submission deadline—was very suspicious.
The spark for this controversy dates back to the 29th. The seven members of BTS shared through personal social media channels that day, "We have decided not to submit to the Grammys this year," adding, "We hope that music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language."
The Recording Academy explained through a statement in the name of CEO Harvey Mason Jr. the next day, the 30th, stating, "It was established to celebrate the depth, diversity, and incredible growth of pop music coming out of Asia," and adding, "Submitting in a genre category does not exclude an entry from consideration in the general field categories."
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)