In recent days, there has been a stir over a major global music event that introduced five new categories at the 69th Grammy Awards in 2027, including Best Asian Pop Music Performance, Best Latin Song, Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance, Best R&B Collaboration or Duo/Group Performance, and Best Traditional Folk Album. However, the categories that have sparked the most controversy are Best Asian Pop Music Performance and Best Latin Song. In response to this, one of Asia’s biggest music groups, BTS, has officially decided not to submit their work to the 2027 Grammy Awards. Does this signal a backlash against categorizing and segregating music based on region or language?
The announcement of the 2027 Grammy Awards has received mixed reactions from the global community and has already drawn responses from musicians around the world. Previously, the Grammys had faced criticism from musicians such as Eminem at the 2018 Grammys, who argued that the Grammy voting process did not truly reflect the voters’ choices. Furthermore, Drake and Zayn Malik criticized the 2020 and 2021 Grammys; Drake argued that the Grammys overlooked the work of Black musicians and the rap genre, while Zayn Malik criticized the 2021 Grammys for favoritism in nominations, racism, and political networking. Several other major musicians, including Ariana Grande, Halsey, and others, have also voiced their concerns. Criticism of the Grammy Awards has been around for a long time, even though in the past the awards did not categorize music by region or language.
In 2026, the Asian music group BTS decided not to submit any entries for the 2027 Grammy Awards, issuing an official statement that read, “… We hope our music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language. Thank you to ARMY and everyone who has always stood by us.” BTS’s decision to withdraw from this prestigious event came after the Recording Academy announced the creation of new categories. Although the Recording Academy announced and clarified that these categories were intended to recognize the performances of K-pop, J-pop, C-pop, and other musicians, as well as a “Best Latin Song” category specifically for works predominantly in Spanish.
This phenomenon brings to mind postcolonial theories and international cultural relations. One example is the terminology found in the book *The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order*, written by Samuel P. Huntington. This book not only explores the dynamics of world politics before and after the Cold War but remains relevant for understanding current sociopolitical phenomena. One thing that caught the author’s attention is a subchapter in the book titled “Another World?” which explains the concept of “Two Worlds: Us and Them”—a way of thinking that consistently divides humanity into “Us” and “Them,” “the in-group” and “the out-group,” namely our civilization and theirs (the “barbarians”). In interpreting this concept, scholars have divided the world into East and West, North and South, and center and periphery.
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In terms of global politics, the world is not divided solely into rich countries (modern and developed) and poor countries (underdeveloped, traditional, or developing). On a broader level, the economic and historical development of Asia and Latin America reveals a dichotomy between the rich and the poor. Furthermore, a cultural division of the world still appears to exist. In some respects, the West is regarded as a single entity, while the actions of non-Western societies are distinguished based on issues of religion, social structure, institutions, and values. The dichotomy between the West and the East. This dichotomy has been criticized by Edward Said for positing “a distinction between (the West, Europe, ‘us’) and ‘the other’ (the East, ‘them’), which implies that the former is superior to the latter.”
Therefore, does the categorization of music in the 2027 Grammy Awards reinforce the dichotomy between the West and the East, between “us” and “them,” and between “insiders” and “outsiders”? New Award Categories: Best Asian Pop Music Performance honors K-pop, J-pop, C-pop, and other Asian pop styles featuring Asian languages. This implies that “our” music and “their” music cannot be categorized under the same umbrella. These genres encompass distinct cultures and languages. If we refer to the dichotomy described by Edward Said, it suggests that “our” music is superior to “their” music.
The definitions of region and language often create mental boxes that actually reinforce and clarify the reality of the relationship between Asia and Europe, the West and the East. Yet the notion of Asia as a separate continent is problematic both geologically and culturally. Geologically, both are located on the same tectonic plate the Eurasian Plate. Culturally and linguistically, Asia is a problematic concept that is always regarded by the West as “non-Western.” The West is fairly easy to define because its civilization emerged from Roman civilization, was Christianized, and subsequently underwent developments including the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution. Asia, however, comprises diverse cultures, languages, and religions; even the Arab world (the Middle East) and China (East Asia) share no commonalities or even similarities with one another, whether in language or religion. The Arab world is considered to have more affinities and similarities with Europe in terms of religious origins compared to China include Japan and South Korea.
Thus, the categories of Asian and Latin music imply that there is a division a distinction between Asian and Latin music and Western music in general. These categories seem to suggest that Western and Asian music cannot compete in the same awards ceremony. This situation seems to validate what Samuel P. Huntington wrote in “The Clash of Civilizations: Us and Them” a way of thinking that always divides humanity into the categories of “Us” and “Them,” “insiders” and “outsiders,” namely our civilization and their civilization, as reflected in our music and their music.
The categorization of Asian and Latin music shows that, unlike Western music, they are classified differently. The author believes that the divide between Asia and the West, and between the West and the East, has not yet been eroded by today’s global values and civilization, which are no longer bound by geographical limits. The author does not reject the use of the word “Asia” as a shorthand term to describe a specific region. However, in the context of music, it should not be separated into the terms “Asian” or “Latin” music through categorizations such as K-pop, J-pop, C-pop, and Asian pop styles featuring Asian languages as well as Spanish-language compositions. Beyond cultural and linguistic factors, regional categorization highlights that Asian and Latin artists are set apart from the broader music scene.
This phenomenon reinforces the “us versus them” dichotomy, where music is categorized by language and region, resulting in a division into “Two Worlds of Music”: “Our Music” and “Their Music” a mindset that perpetually divides humanity into “the in-group” and “the out-group,” namely Western music (the in-group) and Asian music (the out-group). This categorization suggests that Western music is distinct from Eastern (Asian) music. Meanwhile, Edward Said has criticized this dichotomy, arguing that “the distinction between ‘us’ (the West, Europe) and ‘the other’ (‘them,’ the East) implies that the former is superior to the latter. Western music is considered superior to Asian music, so the categorization of music indicates that the Western perspective on Asia remains unchanged viewing it as a different world.” The author observes that the long-standing tensions within global culture still persist today.
