Songs released by K-pop artists, or K-pop-adjacent artists, more on that later — have received nominations in the big four categories for the first time. “APT.” will go head-to-head with the fictional girl group HUNTR/X’s “Golden,” performed by Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami from the “KPop Demon Hunters” soundtrack. “It’s a celebration and testament to how diverse and dynamic K-pop has become.”WHY ARE THESE ACTS BEING RECOGNIZED NOW IN 2026? “This is all recognition of just global storytelling improvement, global taste-making improvement.”“I don’t want to diminish it,” she adds. After all, HUNTR/X is a fictional girl group from an animated film that did not debut through the K-pop music industry system.