The Recording Academy has announced significant rule changes for the 69th Grammy Awards, scheduled for February 7, 2027. The updates include five new categories and key modifications to eligibility for Best New Artist and Album of the Year.
New Categories
- Best Asian Pop Music Performance: Recognizes excellence in Asian pop music (e.g., K-pop, J-pop, C-pop) with meaningful use of one or more Asian languages. Award goes to performing artist(s).
- Best R&B Collaboration or Duo/Group Performance: Recognizes excellence in contemporary R&B performances by duos, groups, or collaborations. Award goes to performing artist(s).
- Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance: Recognizes excellence in singles/tracks that cannot be intermingled with present forms of pop music.
- Best Traditional Folk Album: Recognizes excellence in albums of traditional folk recordings. Award goes to artist(s), producer(s), engineer(s)/mixer(s), and songwriter(s) of new songs (>50% playing time).
- Best Latin Song: Recognizes songwriters for newly written Latin songs predominantly in Spanish (at least 51% of lyrics). Award goes to songwriter(s) of new material.
Notable Changes
Best New Artist: The maximum number of submissions has increased from three to four, and the category description has been refined to clarify impact during the eligibility period.
Album Eligibility: The threshold of new recordings required on an eligible album has been lowered from 75% to 66%.
Best Album Notes and Best Historical Album: Internet-only releases are now eligible, provided additional materials and album notes are part of a commercial download.
Songwriters and Composers Recognition: Songwriters and composers of new material on winning albums in most genre album categories will now receive Grammy statuettes and Achievement Certificates, achieving parity with producers and engineers.
Voting Process Update
Ballot Plus: This is an opt-in alternative to the standard 10/3 voting structure. It allows voting members with expertise across multiple genres to vote in up to 15 peer-related categories, based on verified credits.
Statements
“We've heard from the music community that the way artists are being developed is changing... The changes that have been made to this Category will allow for a little bit more flexibility and reflect the reality that artist development looks different than it did even a few years ago.”
— Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, on Best New Artist
“We have made so much great progress and changes in respect to the songwriter craft in recent years... It all starts with songwriters; none of the awards really can happen without songwriters. It's really important they feel acknowledged and celebrated in the same way producers and engineers do.”
— Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, on the album update