The 68th Grammy Awards will take place on February 1 (local time) at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Among the announced candidates is Rosé’s “APT.”the original soundtrack “Golden” from the Netflix animated film KPop Demon Huntersand KATSEYE, the girl group jointly launched by HYBE and the American label Geffen Records.
Rosé earned nominations in three major categories with “APT.”his collaboration with global pop star Bruno Mars. The song is up for Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Notably, Rosé is also scheduled to perform on the Grammy stage, marking the first time a K-pop solo artist will do so since BTS, further underscoring her growing global presence.
THE KPop Demon Hunters OST “Golden” it also had a strong impact on all key categories. The song received nominations for Song of the Year, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Song Written for Visual Media. Furthermore, “Golden (David Guetta Remix)” was nominated for Best Remixed Recording, while the film’s soundtrack album earned a nomination for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media, bringing the total to five nominations.
KATSEYE was nominated in two categories: Best New Artist and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Both Rosé and KATSEYE will perform at the ceremony, highlighting K-pop’s growing visibility not only as nominees, but as artists on the main stage. Meanwhile, the original Korean musical Maybe happy ending it was also rewarded with a nomination for Best Musical Theater Album.
Established in 1959 by the Recording Academy, the Grammy Awards are known for prioritizing musical artistry over commercial success, making even a nomination a significant honor. Korean winners to date include soprano Sumi Jo in 1993 and sound engineer Hwang Byung-joon in 2012 and 2016.
Within the K-pop genre, BTS was nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for three consecutive years at the 63rd to 65th Grammy Awards, while PSY “Gangnam Style” earned a nomination for best music video in 2012, marking K-pop’s first direct encounter with the Grammys. However, no K-pop artist has yet taken home a Grammy win.
For this reason, the Grammys have long been considered K-pop’s last and most elusive barrier. This year, however, industry watchers are noticing a change in the atmosphere. Rosé and Bruno Mars’ “APT.” has proven both its popularity and its cultural impact on the global charts, while “Golden” triggered almost syndrome-level reactions abroad, raising expectations even higher.
If a K-pop artist were to score a win at this year’s ceremony, it would go beyond individual achievements and represent a historic milestone: K-pop’s first Grammy win. As anticipation builds, music fans around the world are turning their eyes to Los Angeles to see if K-pop can finally break through the Grammy wall.
The 68th Grammy Awards will be broadcast live in South Korea on February 2 at 9:55am KST via Mnet, with singer John Park, music critic Kim Yoon-ha and broadcaster Shin Ah-young hosting the Korean broadcast.
Sources: Nate
