From Best Asian Pop To Latin Pop Music Grammys Learn To Listen To The World

As global music listening trends continue to blur boundaries of language and genre, with artistes from Seoul to San Juan and Jalandhar to Tokyo commanding a global fan base through streaming platforms, the Recording Academy, the Grammys’ governing body, has decided to reflect this reality in next year’s awards. It has introduced five new categories, including Best Asian pop, Latin pop music, two new categories for traditional folk and one for Best R&B collaboration.

The new categories will be a part of the Grammys next year. This is a highly anticipated change, spurred by the success of K-pop and the achievements of Puerto Rican artists like Bad Bunny, whose 100 per cent Spanish album at last year’s Grammys challenged the popular notion that English-language music alone defines the mainstream. This shift also reflects the inclusion of more Korean and Latin voting members in the Academy.

The development is especially significant for Indian music, now a global cultural export with artistes like Diljeet Dosanjh, Karan Aujla and AP Dhillon, who don’t owe their fan base to Western music industries. It will allow musicians like Sid Sriram and Hanumankind, who often make music in Tamil and Malayalam, a better chance at the hallowed gramophone as they will be evaluated within their musical ecosystems. Musicians from historically underrepresented nations like Iran, Afghanistan, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka, who possess rich musical traditions but are rarely in the running for global recognition, could stand a better chance at the Grammys without having to pander to Western standards. With music being shaped by many voices, it is reassuring to see that its highest honours want to mirror that diversity.