Historic Moment for K-POP as Artists Make Big 4 Grammy Nominations

At the 68th Grammy Awards on February 1, K-POP artists achieved a historic first by receiving nominations in all four major categories: Album, Record, Song, and Best New Artist. This marks a pivotal moment demonstrating K-POP’s full integration into global mainstream music.

ROSÉ was nominated for Record of the Year with her collaboration track “APT” alongside Bruno Mars, becoming the first K-POP artist to enter this category. The same song also received a nomination for Song of the Year, competing against “Golden” — the theme song from Netflix’s animated series *KPop Demon Hunters* (performed by Ejae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami). “Golden” reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2025, and the associated film has become a global success, surpassing 300 million views on Netflix.

Katseye, a girl group under HYBE, was nominated for Best New Artist, marking them as the first K-POP-affiliated artist to enter this category as well. Although trained through the standard K-POP idol system, Katseye is primarily marketed toward Western audiences. They gained further attention through the Netflix series *Pop Star Academy: Katseye*.

Sam Howard-Spink, a professor of music business at NYU, explained that institutions like the Grammy Awards clearly illustrate how international the music industry has become. He added that these nominations emphasize the importance of artists worldwide, especially those from non-English speaking regions, to his students.

However, scholars are interpreting the significance of these nominations from various perspectives. Areum Jeong, an assistant professor of Korean studies at Arizona State University, described “APT” and Katseye as “hybrid concepts of deterritorialized K-POP.” She noted that while ROSÉ was trained within the K-POP system and incorporated elements of a Korean game into her song, the overall work does not feel like a locally produced K-POP track. Similarly, she pointed out that Katseye, despite going through HYBE’s K-POP training framework, is marketed primarily to Western listeners.

*KPop Demon Hunters* has also been viewed in a similar light as a work that “creates new possibilities by using K-POP as its source of inspiration and motifs.”

Mathieu Berbiguier, a visiting professor of Korean studies at Carnegie Mellon University, identified “elements of mainstream popular music” as a common feature among these nominations. He explained that large-scale Netflix films like *KPop Demon Hunters*, collaborations with artists such as Bruno Mars like “APT,” international lineups, and Netflix series like *Katseye* all serve to prove this point. Berbiguier stressed that these examples show K-POP is no longer a niche culture.

Howard-Spink, the new director of NYU’s music business program, previously published a case study in 2024 on K-POP and BTS’s role in enhancing South Korea’s soft power. He is currently guiding students through the trends of globalization in the music industry.