The highly anticipated BTS’ Grammy Award didn’t come true.
BTS fail to create another new history at the Grammy Awards again this year. However, they are still highly anticipated to receive a “Grand Slam”, which means winning all three major U.S. music awards, next year.
No matter what the result is, many evaluate that it is meaningful already just to be nominated for the Grammy for two consecutive years.
Let’s take a deeper look into this result from BTS, a wider look at Korean Hallyu content nowadays with pop culture critic Kim Heon-sik and his questions that stimulates fans’ curiosity.
<Question 1> BTS‘s “Butter” raised expectations for winning after topping the U.S. Billboard main single chart “Hot 100” for the longest time last year, but failed to overcome the Grammy barrier. Does Grammy have any special standards that only it requires?
<Question 2> The Grammy has never given an award to any boy bands that have dominated a whole era in the U.S such as New Kids on the Block, Backstreet Boys, and N’Sync. Then, can we see the fact that BTS was nominated for 2 consecutive years as a fresh change?
<Question 3> In the past, the Grammy did not disclose its judges’ group, but this time it was reported that many members who were friendly to K-pop, including various races, participated. Can we look forward to the future of these changes?
<Question 4> BTS, which joined the ceremony through a pre-recorded video last year due to the pandemic, set up their own live stage today. They even received a standing ovation on the stage dressed in black suits under the concept of “Secret Agent,” but I heard that their practice process was not easy?
<Question 5> After the award ceremony, BTS expressed their honest feelings through a live broadcast. “It’s unfortunate, but it’s not something to be sad about,” they said adding, “I was motivated a lot after watching many good performances.” BTS, what are their plans for the future?
<Question 6> The winner of this Grammy Awards “Record of the Year” is Silk Sonic. Recently, BTS members visited their concert and drew attention, and Silk Sonic‘s Anderson Pak is drawing attention as he is nicknamed “Milyang Park” by Korean fans. Will this lead to a rising interest in these artists from K-Pop fans?
<Question 7> This time, we will talk about popular Korean dramas and movies on the OTT platform. Korean dramas are still popular on Netflix, and fantasy genres such as “Squid Game,” “All Of Us Are Dead,” and “Kingdom” were popular right from their premiere, but do you think the atmosphere has changed now?
<Question 7-1> Recently, “Business Proposal” topped Netflix’s non-English-speaking drama category for the second consecutive week. What do you think is the reason why it is so popular both in Korea and abroad despite the typical romantic comedy and obvious ending?
<Question 8> On Apple TV, “Pachinko” is receiving worldwide favorable reviews. It’s an ambitious project from Apple which reported as much as 100 billion won in production costs, and I think it’s meaningful that many of the production staff, directors, and actors invested in “Pachinko,” are Korean-Americans. That’s how much Korean content is recognized. Can we have more expectations after this?
<Question 8-1> Director Bong Joon-ho mentioned the “one-inch barrier” before, but can we say that we have overcome the language and culture barrier now?
