At the 2021 Grammy Awards, which ended a few days ago, BTS fans and audiences in Korea could not help but regret that the Big Hit group lost the award of “Best Pop Group/ Duo Performance” to Rain On Me of Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande.
Most BTS fans were disappointed by the results of the Grammy, even some crazy fans attacked Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande on social networks, creating bad images. Many BTS fans said that this result was disappointing, even they thought that BTS was the first Korean artist to be nominated for the Grammy Awards. BTS’s failure at the awards night made many people think that Asian artists have become the target of racism by the members of the Academy of Music.
However, is BTS the first Korean artist to be nominated at the Grammy? The answer is no. 28 years ago, there was a real Korean artist who won convincingly at the Grammy and got her nominated for a total of 3 times.
Specifically, 28 years ago, at the Grammy Awards in 1992, Opera singer Sumi Jo excellently won the category “Best Opera Recording” with “Die Frau Ohne Schatten” by R. Trauss. The legendary opera singer Sumi Jo also received 2 Grammy nominations in 1992 and 1995. Thus, it is not correct to say BTS is the first artist in Korea to receive a Grammy nomination.
When BTS received the first Grammy nomination in their career, they were only confirmed as the first Kpop group to achieve the above achievement. Besides, the category of Best Pop Duo / Group Performance that BTS was nominated for naturally attracted the attention of the public and the media more than the “academic” category of Sumi Jo. That’s why all the attention is on BTS. It seems that everyone has forgotten the miracle that Sumi Jo did nearly 30 years ago.
Sumi Jo was born in 1962. She is a lyric coloratura soprano opera singer, which means when she sings she will often switch between very high notes. Debut in 1990, Sumi Jo gradually became popular around the world. She also appeared with numerous symphony orchestras in concert, including the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Pops, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Vienna Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra among others. Her work led her to sing under such conductors as Sir Georg Solti, Zubin Mehta, Lorin Maazel, James Levine, Kent Nagano, and Richard Bonynge. She also gave recitals throughout Europe, the United States, Canada, and Australia. Sumi Jo performed at the 2002 Seoul World Cup and the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She was also awarded the title “Artist for Peace” by UNESCO in 2003.
An interesting fact, on BTS V’s 26th birthday, Sumi Jo personally covered a song of him, Snow Flowers, as a gift to the male idol.
Source: Grammy, Internet, YouTube
