Recording Academy®
The Recording Academy has unveiled a series of significant updates to the Grammy Awards ahead of its 69th annual ceremony, introducing five new categories and several rule revisions designed to reflect the evolving global music landscape.
Among the most notable additions is the creation of Best Asian Pop Music Performance, a category recognizing recordings from Asian pop markets, including genres such as K-pop, J-pop and C-pop. The move marks one of the Academy’s clearest acknowledgments yet of the growing international influence of Asian music on the global stage.
The Academy is also expanding recognition within R&B, folk, pop and Latin music. New categories include Best R&B Collaboration or Duo/Group Performance, Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance, Best Traditional Folk Album and Best Latin Song, the latter honoring songwriters behind Spanish-language compositions. As part of the changes, existing categories have been renamed, with Best R&B Performance becoming Best R&B Solo Performance and Best Folk Album rebranded as Best Contemporary Folk Album.
Beyond category additions, the Academy is implementing a new voting option known as Ballot Plus. The system will allow eligible voting members with expertise across multiple genres to participate in up to 15 peer-reviewed categories, expanding beyond the current voting structure. Participation will require verification of professional credits and will be offered as an optional alternative to the standard ballot process.
Several eligibility and recognition rules are also being revised. The Best New Artist category has been updated to provide greater flexibility, increasing the maximum number of times an artist can be submitted from three to four. Meanwhile, album eligibility requirements have been relaxed, lowering the threshold for newly recorded material from 75% to 66%, a change intended to better align Grammy rules with how contemporary albums are created and released.
The Academy is also broadening recognition for songwriters and composers. Going forward, creators of new material on winning albums in most genre categories will receive Grammy statuettes and achievement certificates.
Additional updates include expanded eligibility for digital-only releases in categories such as Best Album Notes and Best Historical Album.
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