K-Pop Writes New Chapter in Grammy History as Rosé and ‘Golden’ Receive Major Nominations

K-Pop has proven its global prominence by having multiple tracks enter major categories for the first time in Grammy Award history. At the 2026 Grammy Award nominations announcement, K-Pop artists received unprecedented recognition. Rosé, a member of BLACKPINK, earned three historic nominations for her collaboration with Bruno Mars titled “APT.” The track made it to the most prestigious categories in the music industry, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year, as well as Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. This marks Rosé’s first Grammy nomination. F1 Album, the album featuring her song “Messy,” was also nominated for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media. The OST for “K-Pop Demon Hunters” also received Grammy recognition. Ejae, a member of the virtual girl group HUNTR/X who sang the film’s theme song “Golden,” secured three nominations. “Golden” appeared in the categories of Song of the Year, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, and Best Song Written for Visual Media. The entire soundtrack for K-Pop Demon Hunters was also nominated for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media, with Ejae likely to be recognized as the Grammy winner if she takes home the award in this category. For the first time in Grammy history, two K-Pop songs were simultaneously nominated in the Song of the Year category: “Golden” and Rosé’s “APT.” K-Pop’s influence is also evident in the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance category. Out of the five nominees in this category, three are K-Pop-related tracks—HUNTR/X’s “Golden,” Rosé and Bruno Mars’s “APT,” and the debut group Katseye’s “Gabriela.” The other nominees are Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s “Defying Gravity” and SZA and Kendrick Lamar’s “30 for 30.” Katseye became the first K-Pop debut group to be nominated in the Best New Artist category. Formed through HYBE and Geffen’s global audition project, Katseye gained attention for its international lineup of members and polished sound. They were also nominated in the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance category for “Gabriela.” These achievements reflect K-Pop’s expanding global influence and the Grammy Awards’ growing diversity in musical genres. Previously, K-Pop had been relatively overlooked at the Grammys. BTS was the only group to receive consecutive nominations in the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance category for three years with “Dynamite” (2021), “Butter” (2022), and “My Universe” (2023). This year’s nominations are attributed to the genre’s strengthened international standing and the global success of English-language tracks. The Grammy Awards ceremony is scheduled to take place on February 1 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.