Sawt Falasteen - S. Korea celebrates breakthrough Grammy win for K-pop's 'Golden'

The track, performed by Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami as the fictional girl group Huntrix in the film, won Best Song Written for Visual Media to claim an accolade that had long eluded the industry despite its global popularity.

K-pop megagroups BTS, for example, has been nominated multiple times in different categories since 2021 but has yet to be recognised at the music industry's biggest night.

One YouTube commentator, who uses the handle striderz1971, noted that neither BTS nor Blackpink had been able to score a Grammy and said 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 said.

Music columnist Kim Do-hoon told AFP that the Grammys had long sidelined K-pop because of what he said 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 said.

"They are also known for avoiding heavily produced music, which is often the case with K-pop artists," Kim said.

"Golden" was also nominated for Song of the Year alongside "APT.", sung by K-pop idol Rose and Bruno Mars in a high-octane opening to the ceremony.

Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas O'Connell won the coveted category for "Wildflower", a result that surprised some observers in a crowded field.

South Korean media were quick to welcome the success of "Golden".

"'Kedehun', which has captivated the world, has triumphed at the Grammys," a Yonhap news agency headline read, using a shorthand title for the film that has been widely adopted in South Korea.

The Kyunghyang Shinmun daily noted that the Grammys had until now stopped short of honouring K-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 said.

The Song of the Year nominations for "Golden" and "APT." were "meaningful milestones" even though they did not win, Kyunghyang said.

W.Mansour--SF-PST