[비즈한국] One of the eye-catching moments at this year's Grammy Awards was Bad Bunny winning Album of the Year. It’s not just because he beat out formidable nominees like Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Kendrick Lamar, and Sabrina Carpenter. It is because the Grammys, often criticized for their rigidity, chose a 100% Spanish-language album as Album of the Year, which is quite unprecedented.
Bad Bunny's album, 'Debí Tirar Más Fotos,' features a Latin beat and reggae-style musical genre, with lyrics entirely in Spanish. Bad Bunny is from Puerto Rico. While Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory, it is deeply rooted in Latin worldview and identity, both historically and culturally. Like Korea, it serves as a cultural bridge. The songs on this album, based on Puerto Rican culture, do not strictly follow the conventions of pop music. They are songs that evoke memories and nostalgia for those from Puerto Rico.
His win didn't happen overnight. Bad Bunny debuted in 2016 with the Spanish song 'Soy Peor (I'm Worse)' and has been a leading figure in creating the global Latin pop boom. In 2023, he was nominated for a Grammy with 'Un Verano Sin Ti (A Summer Without You).' While it was the first Latin album to be nominated for Album of the Year, the award went to Harry Styles for 'Harry's House.'
Bad Bunny's Grammy win was driven not only by his personal achievements but also by several converging factors. It was supported by Hispanic and Latin culture, and the timing was also favorable. The 'ICE OUT' campaign, sparked by the excessive crackdowns by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), had an influence. Many musicians attended the Grammy ceremony wearing this badge. Bad Bunny, who also won in the 'Música Urbana Album' category, shouted "ICE OUT" on stage and asserted that "we are not savages, animals, or aliens, but humans and Americans," emphasizing that "love is more powerful than hate." Billie Eilish, who won Song of the Year, also criticized President Trump's deportation policy for illegal immigrants in strong terms, shouting "F*** ICE."
Watching the Grammy ceremony, a few points came to mind. It suggests that even Latin or Spanish music, which is very close to Americans, has long struggled to gain recognition. This is true despite the significant Hispanic population in the U.S. If that is the case, K-pop may face a more arduous path to a Grammy win if it only represents Korean music. A weakness of K-pop is that it contains fewer multicultural elements. It needs to embrace not just Korea, but the sentiments and musical codes of Asia as a whole. In that sense, Asia's strong fandom culture is a valuable asset.
It is understandable that KATSEYE, a group composed of diverse ethnicities, was nominated for Best New Artist and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance just two years after their debut. However, it is worth considering whether it is necessary to artificially compose a group without any Koreans in the name of localization. One cannot overlook that the reason Rosé received so much attention is because she possesses a multicultural code. There is a need to leverage and expand on this. K-pop needs to collaborate with overseas Korean musicians and become a leader for Asian immigrant groups. Rapper Shaboozey, who has a mother who is a first-generation Nigerian immigrant, won the Grammy for Best Country Duo/Group Performance and said, "This country was built by immigrants," and K-pop artists should be able to speak out like him.
Furthermore, looking at Billie Eilish's 'Song of the Year' win and Bad Bunny's 'Album of the Year' win, their achievements remind us that what is highly personal is what is "Grammy-worthy." The Grammys are an awards ceremony for Western music. They focus on individual sensibility, emotion, and the resulting musical capability or achievement. The same applies to the evaluation of duos or groups. In contrast, K-pop tends to prioritize the performance of the full ensemble over the individual. There is also a prejudice against "produced" idol music.
Both BLACKPINK and BTS strengthen their individual capabilities, which in turn solidifies their activities as a full group. If the growth of these so-called autonomous idols aligns with the Grammy Awards' principle of valuing artistry, they could establish a new K-pop model. In that sense, collaborations like Rosé's should be attempted continuously, and creative methods that create synergy with content—like with 'Kedheon'—should be actively adopted to fit the musical grammar and consumption patterns of video media. A format based on the individual, extending to the full group and further representing the community, should show more than just multiculturalism through K-pop.
The author, Kim Heon-sik, has been walking through or clearing the forest of popular culture phenomena since his 20s with the expectation that there is a way to make the world a better place within culture. Even in the 21st century, where artificial intelligence and quantum computers are at work, he continues along the same path with the same belief.