The Recording Academy has announced a major change to the GRAMMY Awards, adding a brand-new category dedicated to country music for the upcoming ballot.
Announced early Thursday, the GRAMMYs will add a brand new category: Best Traditional Country Album. Along with this new addition, the existing Best Country Album Category has been renamed to Best Contemporary Country Album.
The new category will highlight country albums that feature more traditional sounds and instrumentation, like acoustic guitar, steel guitar, fiddle, banjo, mandolin, piano, electric guitar, and live drums. This will include sub-genres such as western, western swing, and outlaw country.
This change, along with several other updates was made by the Recording Academy following its annual review of proposals submitted by its members, which include music creators and industry professionals. These changes reflect the evolving music landscape.
“Country music has evolved in a major way over the past decade, with traditional country experiencing a massive resurgence, growing in popularity and volume. Traditional country has a timeless, distinct sound that’s inspired generations of musicians throughout the years. It’s an important part of the country music story and deserves to be celebrated and recognized with intention,” Recording Academy CEO, Harvey Mason jr., shared. “This action by our members now opens the door for us to celebrate more artists and a wider range of music. By adding this new category and renaming the Country Album Category, we’re creating more space for all the diverse artists who are shaping the future of country music.”
The Best Traditional Country Album is the only new category added to the ballot.
Other updates and changes include new eligibility requirements for Best New Artist, which has been broadened to include artists who were previously nominated in the Album of the Year category, as long as their contributions did not exceed the current 20 percent playing time threshold. This change means that artists credited as featured performers on past Album of the Year nominees can now be considered for Best New Artist.
Additionally, in the Classical categories, composers and lyricists/librettists are now eligible to receive GRAMMY recognition alongside artists, producers, and engineers on winning albums.
“The Academy’s top priority is to represent the music people that we serve each year,” the CEO of the Recording Academy added in a statement. “That entails listening carefully to our members to make sure our rules and guidelines reflect today’s music and allow us to accurately recognize as many deserving creators as possible. As we kick off another exciting GRAMMY Season, we look forward to celebrating the amazing power of music and its ability to bring so many people together.”
The 68th Annual GRAMMY Awards will take place on Sun, Feb. 1, 2026, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
The post Recording Academy Adds New Best Traditional Country Album Category to GRAMMYs appeared first on Country Now.