From Rosé to Katseye, the 2026 Grammy nominations mark a breakthrough — or possibly an evolution

 
Ok-pop has simply leaped over the Grammy’s notoriously excessive barrier for the style: Blackpink’s Rosé scored three nominations, Netflix’s animated movie “KPop Demon Hunters” landed 5 and woman group Katseye, although not strictly a Ok-pop act, earned two.
 
Whereas the prospect of a win underneath the broader “Ok” banner seems stronger than ever, critics recommend that this 12 months’s nominations mark extra of an evolution than a breakthrough for Ok-pop, reflecting how the style has tailored to the U.S. music panorama, particularly as a result of considerably shocking recognition of Katseye.
 
The announcement of the 68th Annual Grammy Awards nominees was livestreamed by the Recording Academy on Saturday. This 12 months’s nominations mark a milestone for Ok-pop, as artists and works tied to the Ok-pop ecosystem have been nominated for 3 of the so-called “Huge 4” classes: Music of the Yr, Document of the Yr, Album of the Yr and Greatest New Artist.
 

Singers Rose and Bruno Mars within the Blackpink member’s 2024 hit observe ″APT.″ [THE BLACK LABEL]

 
Up till now, BTS had been the one Ok-pop act to ever be nominated for the Grammys — particularly Greatest Pop Duo/Group Efficiency and Greatest Music Video — except for soprano Sumi Jo and sound engineer Hwang Byung-joon’s earlier wins. It was additionally credited as a featured artist in Coldplay’s “Music of the Spheres,” which was nominated for Album of the Yr on the sixty fifth Grammys, for his or her contribution to the track “My Universe” (2021). The boy band has but to take residence a trophy.
 
Rosé’s viral megahit “APT.” (2024), a collaboration with Bruno Mars, is up for Music of the Yr, Document of the Yr and Greatest Pop Duo/Efficiency. “Golden,” a chart-sweeping standout observe from Netflix’s smash hit “KPop Demon Hunters,” acquired nominations for Music of the Yr, Greatest Pop Duo/Efficiency, Greatest Music Written for Visible Media and Greatest Remixed Recording. The movie’s soundtrack album was nominated for Greatest Compilation Soundtrack for Visible Media as nicely. The Korean American musical “Perhaps Pleased Ending” can be competing for Greatest Musical Theater Album.
 

HUNTR/X from Netflix’s animated movie ″KPop Demon Hunters″ [NETFLIX]

 
Maybe probably the most shocking new contender is HYBE’s rookie woman group Katseye, nominated for Greatest New Artist and Greatest Pop Duo/Group Efficiency with its June single “Gabriela.”
 
A victory for “APT.,” “Golden” or Katseye might make historical past as the primary Grammy for an artist or work instantly concerned with the broader Ok-pop ecosystem.
 
“Each ‘APT.’ and ‘Golden’ have been massively standard in the USA for a very long time, and throughout a broad demographic, not sure, particular teams,” stated music critic Lim Hee-yoon, suggesting that the chance of a Grammy win seems to be larger than ever this time.
 
Popular culture critic Kim Heon-sik echoed the sentiment, noting that the one factor all Ok-related nominees share is their collaboration with U.S. business gamers.
 
“The songs’ visibility within the U.S. market, supported by native producers, will definitely make the works extra acquainted, and subsequently doubtless to attract votes from members of the Recording Academy,” Kim stated, including that the growing range of the Academy’s members may also work in favor of the nominees.
 
Katseye’s breakthrough into the lineup, particularly, highlights how Ok-pop’s manufacturing mannequin has advanced nicely past its origins.
 

Boy band BTS [WEVERSE]

 
The sextet, which debuted final 12 months, was shaped by the audition program “The Debut: Dream Academy” and is at present managed by HYBE UMG, a three way partnership between the Ok-pop powerhouse and Common Music Group’s Geffen Information. Branded as a “international woman group,” Katseye consists of members from the USA, Korea, the Philippines and Switzerland.
 
Katseye has loved a profitable 12 months to this point, with “Gabriela” peaking at No. 41 on the Billboard Scorching 100 chart. The group is about to kick off its first U.S. tour, titled “Lovely Chaos,” on Saturday, spanning 13 cities and 16 exhibits by December. As of November, Katseye has 33.4 million month-to-month listeners on Spotify, rivaling Blackpink’s 27.1 million listeners, Rosé’s 34.2 million and BTS’s 24.4 million.
 
Lim famous that Katseye’s Grammy recognition was doubtless boosted by Geffen Information’ present and robust presence within the U.S. market, in addition to its region-focused advertising and marketing technique.
 

BTS performs ″Butter″ on the sixty fourth Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, April 3, 2022, in Las Vegas. [AP/YONHAP]

 
“Though it’s troublesome to outline what’s Ok-pop and what’s not, the nominated songs themselves lean extra into the pop class as a part of the broader U.S. music business than a distinctly Korean style,” Lim stated.
 
And that implies that “the barrier will doubtless stay excessive for teams that don’t lean into the region-specific technique [toward the U.S. market],” the critic urged, noting, “Probably the most outstanding takeaway of the most recent Grammy nominations is that they’re all collaborative works with U.S. gamers.” 
 
But each the songs and Katseye’s manufacturing and advertising and marketing mannequin nonetheless carry distinct Ok-pop parts, Kim stated.
 
“Identical to Brit pop retains its recognizable id as a style, Ok-pop also needs to solidify its unified model as a style,” he added.
 
 
 

BY SHIN HA-NEE [[email protected]]