With impressive records, the group BTS is predicted by experts to have more than one nomination at the 64th Grammy Awards.
It was not until January 31, 2022, that the 64th Grammy Awards officially took place. However, the atmosphere around the event is heating up when a series of names are mentioned by experts and targeted for the nomination position.
On October 22, Variety published an article analyzing why 2022 is the year of BTS in particular and the Kpop market in general at the Grammys.
According to Variety, the breakthrough success of BTS has erased the perception that pop music is drowned out. This year alone, the 7-member group has won 3 spots on the Billboard Hot 100, while BlackPink, NCT 127 and Tomorrow X Together also have albums that reach the top 5 on the Billboard 200.
“Kpop is here to stay, and is coming back stronger than ever. It's time for Korean artists to shape music culture and need recognition with nominations, even a Grammy gold trumpet," the newspaper wrote.
“BTS deserves a name at the Grammys”
On November 23, all new nomination categories were announced by Grammy. With the current breakthrough momentum, experts believe that BTS - including members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook - deserves to be in the Album of the Year, Song of the Year categories, as well as recognition of other records of the year.
"BTS is the most popular music engine in Korea", the writer from Variety praised the group's series of victories over the past time. In November 2020, the 5th studio album, Be, released by BTS quickly climbed to number one on the Billboard 200. This achievement helps the group become a band with at least 5 people topping the chart.
In early 2021, BTS' Butter set the record as the most globally streamed song on the first day, with more than 11 million streams, and the fastest song to reach 15 million likes on YouTube in history. . That means, Butter has surpassed the previous record which belonged to Dynamite - also a product of BTS.
Up to now, MV Butter has reached more than 590 million views and has remained at number one on Billboard Hot 100 for 10 weeks (non-consecutive). In addition to this series of achievements, Butter "surpassed" with 2.64 million copies sold in Korea alone and broke all records for music sales this year.
Following Butter, the group maintained an impressive number with Permission to Dance - a song co-written with Ed Sheeran. Just a few weeks later, BTS was once again mentioned as a phenomenon for My Universe featuring Coldplay. And of course, this song also holds the top of the Billboard Hot 100.
"BTS's hat-trick is the kind of commercial domination that the Recording Academy - the organization that organizes the Grammys - cares about. Thus, it can be believed that BTS will most likely be named in more than one Grammy nomination," Variety said.
Kpop reaches international level
According to Variety, the album Be (released in October 2020) is eligible to appear at the Grammys in the Album of the Year category. The audience will not be surprised if BTS' 5th Korean studio album is not only nominated, but also won an award.
“It is a great honor to be named in any category. Especially for BTS, this is also a recognition of the group's talent and influence in particular, and the popularity of K-pop in the North American market in general," Variety wrote.
Be was originally just a "test" of BTS but unexpectedly turned into a breakthrough beyond expectations. Interwoven with elements of pop, hip hop, electronica, disco and even folk, the album was promoted in a series of live shows at the American Music Awards, the Seoul Olympic Stadium, the Good Morning America show and The Late Late Show With James Corden.
Topping the Billboard 200 chart after only a short time of release, Be also recorded sales of more than 2.6 million copies worldwide. The series of MTV Unplugged shows also thanks to Be that the audience is interested again.
"Although nothing can be confirmed yet, BTS is still likely to appear in the Record of the Year and Song of the Year categories," Variety added.
On October 21, BTS confirmed that they had left Sony Music - the music distribution unit under Columbia Records - the leading record label in the US, and joined the "big man" Universal Music Group (UMG). This move heralds a future full of surprises and new jumps for the group.
Not only BTS, the writer from Variety thinks that the following products also demonstrate "not-so-medium" potential at the Grammys, including The Album by BlackPink that ranked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with collaborations with Lady Gaga and Selena Gomez, the SuperM group whose album took the second place on the Billboard 200 is SuperOne.
Talking about the prominence of Kpop last year, it is impossible not to mention Tomorrow X Together (also known as TXT). Experts predict that the Best New Artist category may have one spot available for the 5-member group.
“TXT creates complex pops, crisp music, and a feel that can't be found elsewhere. The album that the group released in May - The Chaos Chapter: Freeze - is an example. It is likely that Recording Academy will deepen the appeal of this album and recognize TXT as a brilliant K-pop rookie," the author said.
Aespa, Treasure, Itzy and Enhypen are still young but are also classified by Variety as being able to appear at the 64th Grammy.