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Grammy Awards Confirm 5 New Categories and Voting Changes for 2027

July 3, 2026 By BeatzHive Editorial 3 min read

Recording Academy Announces Five New Grammy Categories and Sweeping Voting Reforms Ahead of 69th Awards in 2027

The Recording Academy has officially unveiled five brand-new competitive categories alongside a series of significant voting and eligibility reforms set to take effect for the 69th Grammy Awards, scheduled to hold on February 7, 2027. The announcement signals a deliberate effort to broaden the scope of recognition across an increasingly diverse global music landscape. Grammy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. has publicly stated that the changes are a direct reflection of the industry’s continued growth and diversity.

The Five New Categories Explained

Among the most notable additions is the Best Asian Pop Music Performance category, which will honour outstanding work in genres such as K-pop, J-pop, and C-pop — provided the performances feature at least one Asian language. This move acknowledges the surging global influence of Asian pop music, a space that has grown exponentially in mainstream relevance over recent years.

R&B fans also have reason to celebrate, as the Academy introduces Best R&B Collaboration or Duo/Group Performance, a category dedicated to contemporary R&B acts performing together. Additionally, Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance has been created to distinguish classic-leaning pop performances from the modern pop sound, while Best Traditional Folk Album will reward excellence in recordings rooted in traditional folk music. As a direct consequence of the latter addition, the existing Best Folk Album category will be rebranded as Best Contemporary Folk Album. Rounding out the new additions is Best Latin Song, which will recognise songwriters behind newly written Latin tracks, with the requirement that at least 51 per cent of the lyrics be in Spanish.

Voting Rules and Eligibility Get a Major Overhaul

Beyond the new categories, the Recording Academy is rolling out meaningful structural changes to how voting works. A newly introduced system called Ballot Plus will allow eligible members with expertise spanning multiple genres to cast votes in up to 15 peer-related categories, expanding on the previous standard of 10 categories with a three-category cap.

The Best New Artist category now permits artists to be submitted for consideration up to four times, an increase from the former three-submission limit. Album qualification thresholds have also been eased — recordings now need only 66 per cent new material to be eligible, down from the previous 75 per cent benchmark. Furthermore, internet-only releases will now be considered for Best Album Notes and Best Historical Album, as long as supporting materials accompany the commercial download.

In a move widely seen as long overdue within the creative community, songwriters and composers of new material featured on winning albums across most genre album categories will now receive Grammy statuettes and achievement certificates — bringing them level with producers and engineers in terms of formal recognition.

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Yo-Yo Ma performed for President John F. Kennedy as a child. Decades later, the Paris-born cellist has become one of the world's most celebrated classical musicians, earning 20 Grammy Awards along the way. Ma is featured on the #Forbes250 America’s Most Successful Living Immigrants list. See who else made the list: https://t.co/2Xgu79oZeb 📸: Horacio Villalobos via Getty Images

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