Grammys Adds New Country Category For 2026 Show After Beyoncé’s Win

The nation music classes on the upcoming Grammy Awards in 2026 will look totally different than earlier than.

Months after Beyoncé took dwelling the awards for “Finest Nation Album” and “Album of the Yr” for her genre-bending eighth studio album, “Cowboy Carter,” which options the No. 1 nation single “Texas Maintain ‘Em,” the Recording Academy’s CEO revealed that nation musicians approached the board with a proposal for a big change.

Transferring ahead, the Grammy Awards will now honor two distinct varieties of nation albums: one that includes a extra conventional type of nation music, and the opposite celebrating artists with a extra up to date sound, which regularly incorporates R&B, pop, and blues.

In the course of the 2025 Grammy Awards, there have been 10 nation classes within the nation and roots area, with one particularly for Finest Nation Album.

For the upcoming ceremony, which is able to happen someday through the first quarter of 2026, that class might be cut up into two: Finest Conventional Nation Album and Finest Modern Nation Album.

Different classes, which give attention to Americana, bluegrass, folks, and extra, will stay.

The Recording Academy’s CEO, Harvey Mason Jr., elaborated on the change in an interview with Billboard, including that nation performers approached the academy with their issues.

“They mentioned, we expect we want extra space for our music to be celebrated and honored,” he informed the publication, including that the proposal had been submitted a number of instances up to now earlier than being handed this yr.

“It makes nation parallel with what’s occurring in different genres,” Mason mentioned, “However it’s also creating area for the place this style goes.”

In line with Billboard, the Grammys’ new Finest Conventional Album class will acknowledge “excellence in albums of conventional nation music, each vocal and instrumental.”

“Conventional nation consists of nation recordings that adhere to the extra conventional sound constructions of the nation style, together with rhythm and singing type, lyrical content material, in addition to conventional nation instrumentation comparable to acoustic guitar, metal guitar, fiddle, banjo, mandolin, piano, electrical guitar, and reside drums. It additionally consists of sub-genres comparable to Western, Western Swing, and Outlaw nation.”

As Mason continued talking concerning the Academy’s choice to replace the nation classes on the Grammys, he additionally prompt that the change will present extra alternatives for artists to be celebrated amongst their friends.

“The problems have been, historically, lots of people that weren’t positive whether or not [an album] was Americana or roots or folks or nation have been simply jamming every thing into one class,” he mentioned. “There are clearly nuances between the totally different genres. These specialists in these genres perceive these nuances, and I’m fairly sure now you’re going to see the fitting folks going into Americana versus folks versus conventional nation. [The change] offers us a chance to place issues in additional particular classes.”

Mason defined that making adjustments to the way in which nation music is honored on the Grammys allows the Recording Academy to remain present with the style’s evolution.

“I’m hopeful that that group understands that the academy is doing what it all the time does, which is keep in tune with what’s occurring of their style,” he completed.

In early 2025, after profitable a number of Grammys for her nation album, “Cowboy Carter,” Beyoncé faced criticism from on-line customers who believed she wasn’t deserving of the honour.

Nonetheless, throughout her acceptance speech, the previous Future’s Baby member used her platform to share phrases of encouragement for these watching.