Grammy Awards Make Changes To Best New Artist Rules & Add Five New Categories
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- Best New Artist nominees can now submit up to four times, up from three, with the Recording Academy saying the change reflects 'the evolving nature of artist development' and provides 'more flexibility.'
- The Recording Academy added five new categories: Best Asian Pop Music Performance, Best R&B Collaboration or Duo/Group Performance, Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance, Best Traditional Folk Album, and Best Latin Song.
- Best R&B Performance has been revised and renamed Best R&B Solo Performance, while Best Folk Album is now Best Contemporary Folk Album, as the Academy carves out space for the new collaborative and traditional categories.
- The album eligibility threshold for new recordings has been lowered from 75% to 66%, and internet-only releases are now eligible for Best Album Notes and Best Historical Album if additional materials are part of the commercial download.
- Songwriters and composers of new material on winning genre album categories will now receive Grammy statuettes and Achievement Certificates, matching the recognition already given to producers and engineers.
- Ballot Plus, a new opt-in voting alternative, will let verified Voting Members with cross-genre expertise vote in up to 15 peer-related categories instead of the standard 10/3 structure.
- The 69th Grammy Awards are set to air live on ABC, Disney+, and Hulu on February 7, 2027, with CEO Harvey Mason Jr. calling it 'going to be an amazing year' for the ceremony.
Why it matters: The expanded Best New Artist submission cap directly benefits artists like Ella Langley and Megan Moroney, who Billboard noted would have been excluded under the old three-time limit. By adding five categories and extending statuettes to songwriters and composers, the Academy is distributing Grammys more broadly across 2027 — addressing long-standing criticism that behind-the-scenes creators were under-recognized.
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