Critics and followers welcomed South Korea’s first Grammy win for the track “Golden”, from the hit animated movie “KPop Demon Hunters”, describing it on Monday as a breakthrough for the style.
The observe, carried out by Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami because the fictional woman group Huntrix within the movie, received Best Song Written for Visual Media to assert an accolade that had lengthy eluded the business regardless of its international reputation.
Ok-pop megagroups BTS, for instance, has been nominated a number of occasions in numerous classes since 2021 however has but to be recognised on the music business’s largest evening.
One YouTube commentator, who makes use of the deal with striderz1971, famous that neither BTS nor Blackpink had been capable of rating a Grammy and mentioned that “a path had now been forced open”.
“With that barrier now breached, K-pop artists may finally begin to receive the recognition they deserve,” they mentioned.
Music columnist Kim Do-hoon informed AFP that the Grammys had lengthy sidelined Ok-pop due to what he mentioned was its “cookie-cutter format”.
“The Grammys have traditionally placed strong emphasis on musical quality — an area in which K-pop is not widely recognised,” he mentioned.
“They are also known for avoiding heavily produced music, which is often the case with K-pop artists,” Kim mentioned.
“Golden” was additionally nominated for Song of the Year alongside “APT.”, sung by Ok-pop idol Rose and Bruno Mars in a high-octane opening to the ceremony.
Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas O’Connell received the coveted class for “Wildflower”, a consequence that shocked some observers in a crowded discipline.
South Korean media had been fast to welcome the success of “Golden”.
“‘Kedehun’, which has captivated the world, has triumphed at the Grammys,” a Yonhap news company headline learn, utilizing a shorthand title for the movie that has been extensively adopted in South Korea.
The Kyunghyang Shinmun each day famous that the Grammys had till now stopped wanting honouring Ok-pop acts.
“The Grammys have long been seen as a conservative awards show that is not particularly open to diverse music genres, making it difficult for K-pop to break through,” it mentioned.
The Song of the Year nominations for “Golden” and “APT.” had been “meaningful milestones” though they didn’t win, Kyunghyang mentioned.
© 2026 AFP