Rosé, KPop Demon Hunters, and Katseye Receive First Nominations in Four Grammy Big Four Categories – A Historic Milestone for K-Pop

At the 2026 Grammy Awards ceremony, K-Pop artists and projects achieved a historic moment by receiving nominations in Grammy’s “Big Four” categories—the four most prestigious awards categories.

Rosé of BLACKPINK became the first K-Pop artist to be nominated in the Record of the Year category through her collaboration track “APT.” with Bruno Mars, her favorite Grammy artist. The same track also received a nomination in the Song of the Year category, where it competes against “Golden” by Huntrix, the virtual girl group created by KPop Demon Hunters and starring Lee Jae, Audrey Nuuna, and Ray Aimi.

Additionally, Katseye, the girl group produced by HYBE—the agency behind BTS—was nominated in the Best New Artist category, demonstrating the success of another Korean entertainment system.

However, academic discussions continue regarding whether these nominations represent genuine recognition for K-Pop. Areum Jeong, an assistant professor of Korean studies at Arizona State University, described these nominations as a “deterritorialized, hybridized concept of K-Pop.” She argued that although Rosé was trained within the K-Pop system and “APT.” includes motifs from Korean drinking games, the track does not feel like a traditional localized K-Pop production.

Rosé’s and Katseye’s tracks are closer to global pop music aimed at Western listeners, and “Golden” follows a similar approach by drawing inspiration and motifs from Korean culture. In this model, K-Pop serves as an idea, starting point, or motif to create new possibilities. On the other hand, Mathieu Berbiguier, a visiting assistant professor of Korean studies at Carnegie Mellon University, pointed out that these nominations differ from past K-Pop Grammy nominations.

“He noted, ‘Golden,’ ‘APT.’, and Katseye all feature elements of mainstream popular music,’ explaining that international attention driven by Netflix’s blockbuster films, collaborations with Bruno Mars, and the Netflix series ‘Pop Star Academy: Katseye’ makes them special. He analyzed that this means K-Pop is no longer considered a niche genre but is now part of what is typically thought of as pop music.”

Grammy nomination details: - Record of the Year: Rosé & Bruno Mars “APT.” - Song of the Year: Rosé & Bruno Mars “APT.”, Huntrix “Golden” - Best New Artist: Katseye - Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: Rosé, Katseye, Huntrix (competing against each other)

To date, K-Pop artists, including BTS, have only received nominations in secondary categories and have not yet won a Grammy award. It remains to be seen whether the 2026 Grammy Awards will offer K-Pop its first chance to win an award in this history-making event.