BlackPink's Rosé makes history with VMAs 2025, will she break the 'Grammy wall'?

According to The Korea Herald , Rose (BlackPink) just made a big step forward in her solo career when the song APT. Her collaboration with Bruno Mars earned her seven nominations at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), a record number for a K-pop artist this year.

APT. released in October 2024, is currently competing in 7 important categories at the VMAs, including: Video of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Collaboration, Best Pop, Best Director, Best Art Design and Best Visual Effects.

BlackPink's Rosé sets a record

In addition, the song Toxic Till the End included in his debut solo album Rosie Rosé's song was also nominated in the category. K-pop best, bringing the female artist's total nominations to eight.

It is worth mentioning that she not only leads K-pop artists but also stands out among a series of international stars.

Lady Gaga currently holds the top spot with 12 nominations, followed by Bruno Mars with 11, but it is unprecedented for a K-pop solo artist like Rosé to surpass a series of names to appear in many major categories.

On social media, Rosé emotionally shared: "I just got notified that I received eight nominations at the VMAs. I'm completely shocked and don't know what to say. I'm truly grateful."

Along with Rosé, the other members of BlackPink Jennie, Lisa and Jisoo were also nominated in the Best K-pop category for their solo releases. Other artists nominated in the same category include Aespa with Whiplash , Jimin (BTS) with Who and Stray Kids with Chk Chk Boom .

The VMAs is one of the major music awards in the US, created to honor outstanding music video products. The 2025 awards ceremony is scheduled to take place on September 7 in New York.

Is the Grammy out of reach?

According to News1 , Rosé's eight nominations at the VMAs are increasing the possibility that she could be nominated at the awards. Grammy 68th time. This is considered an important step forward in the context that K-pop has not had any representative nominated at the Grammy in the last two years.

At the 67th Grammy Awards, which will take place on February 2, 2025 in the US, no K-pop artists are on the nomination list. The last time a Korean artist was nominated was BTS in 2023.

For three consecutive years from 2021 to 2023, BTS has been nominated in categories such as Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, Best Music Video, and Album of the Year (via a collaboration with Coldplay). However, the group has never won.

Sheet News1 recognized for reaching number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two consecutive weeks, the song APT. will meet certain criteria necessary to be considered at the Grammys.

However, due to its release after the 2025 Grammys' closing date, the song will be considered for the 2026 season.

In addition, the change in direction of the Grammys is also opening up great opportunities for artists from Asia. President of the Recording Academy of America - Mr. Harvey Mason Jr. - acknowledged the criticism aimed at the Grammys in the past and pledged to reform to become more fair and diverse.

The appearance of The Weeknd, who has publicly criticized and boycotted the Grammys, at this year's awards ceremony is a clear sign that the Academy is working to rebuild that trust.

In addition, according to critic Shim Jae Geol, Rosé is a special case: "Although the song structure and message are limited, Rosé shows an experimental spirit in exploiting video game culture elements in music, while achieving a clear emotional effect on international audiences through collaboration with Bruno Mars".

However, he also noted that maintaining the song's influence come next year's Grammy voting will be key.

Still, he rates Rosé as one of the most likely candidates to break through the "Grammy barrier" that K-pop has eluded for years.