Asians win at the 2026 Grammys, but top categories remain out of reach

Asian artists secured historic wins at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards held Feb. 1 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, while mostly being shut out of the ceremony’s most influential categories. “Golden,” performed by Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami, earned best song written for visual media and Filipino American producer Marco Paguia won best musical theater album, yet no Asian artist won record of the year, song of the year or best new artist. Online, fans quickly contrasted those victories with losses by Rosé, Bruno Mars and Katseye, framing the night as another year of recognition that stopped short of the Grammys’ top prizes.

Paguia’s win as a producer on “Buena Vista Social Club” adds a Grammy to his recent Tony Award for the same production. His win drew attention to Asian American representation in orchestration and music direction, areas that rarely receive mainstream recognition despite their influence on Broadway and recorded theater.

Laufey secured best traditional pop vocal album for “A Matter of Time,” marking her second career Grammy. Reaction to both wins was largely positive across fan communities, with supporters highlighting the significance of Asian artists being recognized for musical craft and production rather than chart performance alone.

The Dalai Lama also won best audio book, narration and storytelling recording for “Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama,” becoming one of the oldest first-time Grammy winners in the ceremony’s history at age 90. The ceremony also included a major R&B win for Kehlani, who took home best R&B performance and best R&B song for “Folded.” The dual victory marked one of the few instances where an Asian American artist secured multiple awards in a single night.

HUNTR/X won best song written for visual media for “Golden” from the Netflix animated film KPop Demon Hunters, marking the first Grammy win for a K-pop song. Fan reaction on Reddit and X focused on songwriter EJAE’s unconventional path, with one user on r/popculturechat writing, “it is so cool to see an artist who was not picked as an idol by her agency win the first Grammy for K-pop.”

Rosé and Bruno Mars opened the telecast with “APT.,” which was nominated for record of the year, song of the year and best pop duo group performance but failed to win any of its categories. One commenter on r/kpopthoughts wrote, “It feels like K-pop is only allowed to win when it’s pushed into side categories,” while discussions on X revolved around the Grammys using K-pop for the opening performance and the ratings while refusing to give them the trophy.

KATSEYE’s loss in the best new artist category further fueled that backlash. Despite strong streaming performance and global visibility, the group left winless, prompting fans on Reddit to question how Grammy voters evaluate pop groups and internationally formed acts. One commenter wrote that “the Grammys have been allergic to even mentioning K-pop,” while another added that “the Grammy panels don’t like Kpop groups at all.”