K-pop enthusiasts are poised to see some of their favorite artists becoming major contenders in a newly announced Grammys category.
Tuesday (June 16), the Recording Academy detailed the addition of five new categories, including Best Asian Pop Music Performance. As Grammys CEO Harvey Mason Jr. explained in tandem with the announcement, which also includes updated eligibility requirements for key preexisting categories, the latest tweaks to music’s biggest night were brought on by a desire to provide “more opportunities to celebrate different and new genres.”
Below, we break down the five new categories. The next edition of the Grammys, its 69th, is set for Feb. 7 of next year. Nominations will be unveiled this November. Notably, the new categories and rule changes will be in effect for the upcoming nominees class.
Best Asian Pop Music Performance
The Academy says this category will recognize “artistic excellence in Asian pop music performances originating from or widely recognized within Asian markets,” per details shared with Complex. This includes, but is not limited to, the following examples that contain “meaningful use of one or more Asian languages”: K-pop, J-pop, and C-pop. Awards will be given to the performing artists of nominated works.
Best R&B Collaboration or Duo/Group Performance
The rollout of this category—which recognizes “excellence in contemporary R&B performances for works by established duos or groups, as well as collaborative works between solo artists, duos, and groups”—brings with it a renaming of the Best R&B Performance Category to Best R&B Solo Performance.
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance
So, what, exactly, is considered “traditional” pop? The Academy defines this category as being focused on “singles and tracks that consist of a type and style of song and/or performance that cannot properly be intermingled with present forms of pop music.”
Best Traditional Folk Album
Like the aforementioned new R&B category, this one also comes with the simultaneous renaming of another. Best Folk Album will now be Best Contemporary Folk Album, while Best Traditional Folk Album—an award that can be presented to artists, producers, engineers, and/or songwriters depending on the context—zeroes in on “excellence in albums of traditional folk recordings.” This split is similar to what happened in the country fields for the 2026 ceremony, though that move, notably, was not without controversy.
Best Latin Song
This one’s for the songwriters. To bag a potential Best Latin Song win, a work must be considered “newly written” and “predominately in the Spanish language.” The “predominately” qualifier in this case, per the Academy, means that at least 51 percent of the lyrics must be in Spanish.
