Will K-pop earn its first Grammy in 2026? Maybe, but it's complicated

NEW YORK (AP) — Two things can be true at once. K-pop is an inextricable force in global pop culture, and it has long been undercelebrated at institutions like the Grammys — where K-pop artists have performed but have never taken home a trophy.

That could change at next month's 2026 Grammy Awards ceremony. Songs released by K-pop artists — or K-pop-adjacent artists, more on that later — have received nominations in the big four categories for the first time. Rosé, perhaps best known as one-fourth of the juggernaut girl group Blackpink, is the first K-pop artist to ever receive a nomination in the record of the year field for “APT.,” her megahit with Grammys' favorite Bruno Mars.

The song of the year category also features K-pop nominees for the first time. “APT.” will go head-to-head with the fictional girl group HUNTR/X's “Golden,” performed by Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami from the “KPop Demon Hunters” soundtrack.

And the girl group Katseye, the brain child of HYBE — the entertainment company behind K-pop sensation BTS and countless other international acts — fashioned in the image of the K-pop idol system, has been nominated for best new artist.

It depends on who you ask.

Areum Jeong, assistant professor of Korean Studies at Arizona State University and author of “K-pop Fandom: Performing Deokhu from the 1990s to Today” says the majority of these nominations strike her more as “a de-territorialized, hybrid idea of K-pop,” instead of a recognition of K-pop.

While Rosé “was recruited and trained under the K-pop system, and while ‘APT.’ does contain some motifs from the Korean drinking game,” Jeong says, “the song does not feel like a localized K-pop production. … Same with Katseye, who was trained and produced under HYBE but marketed more toward Western fans and listeners.”

Jeong says that both “APT.” and Katseye's “Gabriela” — both of which will go head-to-head with “Golden” in the pop duo/group performance category — “seem less K-pop than other K-pop songs that could have been nominated over the years.”

She argues the same is true for the music of “Kpop Demon Hunters.” “It is very similar to ‘APT.’ in that it takes inspiration and motif from Korean culture,” where “K-pop serves as an idea, a jumping-off point, or a motif, creating alternatives or new possibilities.”

Mathieu Berbiguier, a visiting assistant professor in Korean Studies at Carnegie Mellon University, points out that these nominations differ from past K-pop Grammy nominations because “Golden,” “APT.” and Katseye all feature “a mainstream popular music factor.”

That's the connection of a massive popular Netflix film (“Kpop Demon Hunters”), a collaboration with Bruno Mars (“APT.”), and Katseye's international membership and Netflix series (“Pop Star Academy: Katseye”), respectively.

“It tells you that K-pop is not considered as something niche anymore,” he says. “Now, when we think about pop music in general, we also think of K-pop as part of it.”

Bernie Cho, industry expert and president of the South Korean agency, the DFSB Kollective, agrees that there is an international, mainstream appeal to the nominees.

“All the nominees represent a sort of post-idol K-pop, in the sense that Rosé, the three ladies of HUNTR/X and Katseye represent the globalized version of K-pop, where the ‘K’ is very much there, but some people might argue it’s silent. The songs are not necessarily for Korea, by Korea, from Korea, just kind of beyond Korea,” he says. “It’s a celebration and testament to how diverse and dynamic K-pop has become.”

“For years, the Recording Academy has snubbed K-pop acts that have set record-breaking standards, such as BTS,Seventeen and Stray Kids,” argues Jeong. “I think one of the main reasons is that the Western world is still so resistant to non-English lyrics.”

“It does not surprise me that ‘APT.’ and Katseye’s music, which mainly contain English lyrics and seem less K-pop, were nominated,” she continues.

Berbiguier adds that “is a reflection of K-pop nowadays, like, trends: the fact that there’s less and less Korean and more and more English.”

There may be an additional factor at play. Tamar Herman, a music journalist and author of the “Notes on K-pop” newsletter, says many critics and industry voices found 2025 to be a lackluster year for new pop music in the U.S. — a fact that was all but confirmed in Luminate's 2025 Mid-Year Report, which found that streams of new music had slowed compared to the year prior, potentially due to a dearth of megahits dominating the charts.

“Yes, it's a big moment for K-pop, but it is so overdue, these recognitions are more of a sign of how poorly the music industry in the U.S. did this year that we're looking externally,” she says.

She argues that acknowledgment of Korean entertainment from U.S. entertainment industries is more symbolic of U.S. cultural dominance slipping than “K-pop being really good, because K-pop has been really good for a really long time,” she says. “This is all recognition of just global storytelling improvement, global taste-making improvement.”

“I don't want to diminish it,” she adds. “These are all universally friendly, accessible, good pop songs.”

And if they weren't, they wouldn't connect.

“It's very obvious that they’re not just performers. They're artists. They're singers. They're songwriters,” says Cho.

The jury is still out.

“I think it’s not even a matter of if or when. It’s going to be who and how many,” says Cho.

Others are less committal. “It's hard to predict,” says Berbiguier. “For me, it's more possible that ‘Golden’ gets one.”

“Yes and no,” offers Herman. For her, it depends on an evolving and fluid definition of K-pop. After all, HUNTR/X is a fictional girl group from an animated film that did not debut through the K-pop music industry system. Would a victory for their song “Golden” mean a victory of K-pop? That's a matter of opinion.

The 68th Grammy Awards will be held Feb. 1 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The show will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+. For more coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/grammy-awards.

This combination of photos show Rosé performing at the Global Citizen Festival in New York on Sept. 27, 2025, left, Ejae, from "KPop Demon Hunters," at the A Year in TIME honors gala in New York on Dec. 10, 2025, center, and Yoonchae, of KATSEYE, performing in Inglewood, Calif., on Dec. 12, 2025. (AP Photo)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said the state faces a $2.9 billion budget deficit this year, an amount significantly lower than what legislative budget analysts projected.

The deficit, though small, could still require cuts and means the Democratic governor doesn’t have money to advance new programs during his last year in office.

It’s the fourth year in a row that the nation’s most populous state faces a multibillion-dollar budget deficit. This year's shortfall comes despite growing revenues fueled by stock market gains and investments in artificial intelligence.

Newsom's office outlined a behemoth $349 billion budget, though his proposal for how to spend all of that money is far from final. Lawmakers and the Democratic governor will spend the next several months fighting and negotiating over priorities — and cuts. Last year Democrats had to roll back their ambitious program to provide free health care to immigrants without legal status in the face of a $12 billion deficit.

“This budget really is about an eye towards ensuring that we have a sustainable fiscal plan going forward,” Finance Director Joe Stephenshaw said during a Friday briefing.

This year, they will also face a $1.4 billion loss in federal funding after new federal policy changes to health care and food assistance programs for low-income people. Lawmakers have said repeatedly California is in no position to backfill that money.

Newsom will try to safeguard some of the progressive policies that have defined his tenure as he considers a presidential run. But lawmakers have to consider the looming structural deficit that could climb to $22 billion the following year. Newsom can't seek a third term and will leave office in January.

The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office in November projected California to face a $18 billion shortfall next year. Their estimate and Newsom's sometimes differ.

Newsom's administration said some of the deficit was offset recently after the state racked in billion of dollars more in revenues than expected.

Still, State Controller Malia Cohen this week warned lawmakers that the state is already spending nearly $6 billion more than expected six months into the fiscal year. She urged them to take “a disciplined approach.”

Republican lawmakers said the problem is nothing new. They have little say in the budget process because Democrats hold supermajorities in both chambers.

"We don't have a revenue problem in California, we have a spending problem,” state Sen. Suzette Martinez-Valladares said in an interview ahead of the budget presentation.

Newsom on Thursday during his State of the State address said his budget will include “the most significant investments” in public education.

He plans to fully fund transitional kindergarten programs for all students, spend more than $27,000 per student next year and provide $1 billion to high-need schools. Based on a complex set of formulas, roughly 40% of the state's budget is required by California law to go to schools every year.

Newsom also proposed to move the Department of Education into the executive branch. The state superintendent of public instruction is an elected position, and it's not immediately clear whether Newsom will ask voters to approve the change.

Newsom signaled this week he'll support legislation to go after large investors buying up affordable homes.

He doesn't propose any new funding to local governments to address homelessness. Last year, Newsom and lawmakers agreed to set aside $500 million for the local programs but it's not guaranteed.

Newsom also calls for the state to rebuild its reserves after withdrawing roughly $12 billion in the last two years to solve budget problems.

He wants to deposit roughly $3 billion into the state’s rainy day fund, $4.5 billion into a special fund for economic emergencies and $4.1 billion in schools' reserve funds.

He also wants the state to use $3 billion to pay down debt.

Gov. Gavin Newsom gives his State of the State address at the State Capitol on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Sacramento, Calif. (Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee via AP, Pool)