K-POP Receives First Nominations in Major Grammy Categories, Elevating Its Status in International Music Awards

K-POP has set a new milestone in Grammy history. At the 2026 Grammys, K-POP artists or artists associated with K-POP were nominated for the industry’s four major categories for the first time: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist.

Rose, a member of BLACKPINK, achieved the first accomplishment for a K-POP artist by being nominated for Record of the Year with her collaboration track “APT.”” with Bruno Mars. In the Song of the Year category, Rose’s “APT.” will compete against “Golden” from the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack. The girl group KATSEYE, produced by HYBE, was nominated for Best New Artist.

However, experts argue that these nominations should be interpreted as the success of global pop influenced by K-POP culture rather than K-POP’s pure entry into international music awards. Areum Jeong, an assistant professor of Korean studies at Arizona State University and author, explained, “Rose was trained within the K-POP system, but ‘APT.’ does not feel like a typical K-POP production.” She added that KATSEYE, although produced and trained under HYBE, is marketed primarily to Western audiences.

Meanwhile, the Korean Music Awards showcased the achievements of K-POP artists in domestic music award circuits. The 23rd Korean Music Awards were held in Seoul on February 26, and it is known to focus on musical accomplishments rather than commercial success.

Jennie of BLACKPINK was nominated in three major categories—Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Artist of the Year—but did not win any of these awards. Nevertheless, she still secured victories in the K-POP categories at the Grammys. By winning Song of the Year (K-POP) with “Like Jenny” and Album of the Year (K-POP) with “Ruby,” Jennie became the first artist to win two K-POP awards as a solo performer.

This achievement came after Jennie surpassed several other K-POP peers, including Mark of NCT and Chaeyoung of TWICE. At the Korean Music Awards, Chundaehye Chagisis won Album of the Year with “Minority,” Lee Chanhyuk won Song of the Year with “Dangerous Love,” and Hanroro won Artist of the Year.