So why didn’t BLACKPINK get a Grammy nomination this year?

It’s understandable, then, that fans of the quartet, as well as the pop culture media and world at large, expected BLACKPINK to be on the nominee list for the 63rd Grammy Awards taking place on January 31, 2021. But this didn’t happen.

More artistry required?

A greater display of artistry and creativity could be key, according to Billboard’s K-pop columnist Jeff Benjamin.

“To be noticed at the Grammys, I think the artists first need to show that they are credible musicians,” Benjamin said. “It would be extremely beneficial for BLACKPINK to open up more about itself as an artist and the way the members contribute to their music and overall work.

“In the case of ‘The Album’, Jisoo and Jennie were part of writing the lead track Lovesick Girls. I wish they spoke more about this in interviews as it is a very impressive accomplishment. Without that credibility, it is challenging to be taken seriously, because the Grammys are believed to honour excellence in popular music.”

Seoul-based critic Jung Min-jae, who writes for music magazine IZM, agrees. He said one of the challenges for BLACKPINK is to exhibit artistic integrity that could impress the Grammys’ organiser, the Recording Academy, an American association of music professionals.

Releasing hit songs

“A number of foreign media outlets mentioned the band’s name as a potential nominee this year,” Jung said. “This means that BLACKPINK is standing out in the US, so I think it can set its sights on a Grammy nomination next year, possibly in the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance category.”

Even though BLACKPINK has sold more than a million copies of its first full-length player “The Album”, industry experts point out that understanding the Grammys’ system is crucial to getting a nomination – which could potentially pose a challenge to the group.

Even BLACKPINK’s powerful international fandom cannot help

“Unlike the Billboard Music Awards and American Music Awards – where fans can play a role in the nomination and voting process – the Grammys voting system is comprised [only] of professionally vetted musicians,” Lee said. “For the Grammys Pop category, academy members vote on the first-round ballots to determine the final nominees. Additionally, it is helpful to receive support from rank-and-file voting members to gain entry into the ‘Big Four’ categories – Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist.”

“There is nothing more the band can do now,” Ahn said. “Looking back over the past 10 to 15 years, people would see the Grammys’ overwhelming bias toward white artists. According to a University of Southern California 2018 study, men have been dominating the ‘Big Four’ categories, where women made up only 9.3 per cent of the nominee pool between 2013 and 2018, with women of colour accounting for only 31 per cent of that figure.”

Ahn said that Asian and Asian-American performers have had a particularly poor showing over the award's 62-year history.

“The Grammy voters have really only recognised English-speaking female solo artists such as Yoko Ono and H.E.R.,” Ahn said.

“The 2021 nominee list shows a meagre attempt at redressing these long-standing issues. Even for BTS, it took years to be nominated, although it shattered records on multiple major music charts.

“In the case of BLACKPINK, it has already made an impressive showing in the American market and the quality of their records is consistently jaw-dropping – what needs to change is the Grammys' system.”