The organizer of the Grammy Awards hinted at a possible change to the “Best Asian Pop Music Performance” category following BTS’ refusal to submit its music for consideration.

Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, which organizes the Grammy Awards, released a statement addressing concerns over the new category on Friday, according to reports published Saturday by multiple outlets, including Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter and Rolling Stone.

“It’s clear from our numerous conversations with many stakeholders over the past two weeks that, regardless of our intent and desire to be even more inclusive, there are some artists in this space who feel that this category isn’t representing the music they work so hard to create in the way they wish,” he said in his statement.

“The management and Board are committed to working together to keep pace with that progress and ensure the musicians we intend to honor feel truly seen and heard by our actions.”

Billboard reported that the Recording Academy may make changes to the controversial category.

The controversy arose over the academy’s decision to introduce the “Best Asian Pop Music Performance” category in an effort to promote diversity amid the rapid growth of Asian pop. Critics of the decision claimed that the category was intended to separate a certain genre of music and bar its artists from winning awards in the General Field.

On July 29, each BTS member uploaded the same statement to their social media accounts saying that they hoped “music can be heard and loved by itself rather than being divided by region or language.” The statement was widely interpreted as referring to the Asian Pop category.

For now, it remains to be seen whether the Grammys’ hint at a change in stance, two weeks after the BTS statement, will actually happen.

BTS, meanwhile, continues its long streak of success on domestic and international charts with its newly released fifth album, “ARIRANG.”

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.