Grammys Provides New Nation Class For 2026 Present After Beyoncé’s Win

The nation music classes on the upcoming Grammy Awards in 2026 will look completely different than earlier than.

Months after Beyoncé took house the awards for “Greatest Nation Album” and “Album of the Yr” for her genre-bending eighth studio album, “Cowboy Carter,” which options the No. 1 nation single “Texas Maintain ‘Em,” the Recording Academy’s CEO revealed that nation musicians approached the board with a proposal for a major change.

Transferring ahead, the Grammy Awards will now honor two distinct kinds of nation albums: one that includes a extra conventional model of nation music, and the opposite celebrating artists with a extra up to date sound, which frequently incorporates R&B, pop, and blues.

In the course of the 2025 Grammy Awards, there have been 10 nation classes within the nation and roots discipline, with one particularly for Greatest Nation Album.

For the upcoming ceremony, which is able to happen someday through the first quarter of 2026, that class might be cut up into two: Greatest Conventional Nation Album and Greatest Up to date Nation Album.

Different classes, which concentrate on Americana, bluegrass, folks, and extra, will stay.

The Recording Academy’s CEO, Harvey Mason Jr., elaborated on the change in an interview with Billboard, including that nation performers approached the academy with their considerations.

“They mentioned, we expect we’d like more room for our music to be celebrated and honored,” he advised the publication, including that the proposal had been submitted a number of occasions previously earlier than being handed this 12 months.

“It makes nation parallel with what’s taking place in different genres,” Mason mentioned, “However it’s also creating area for the place this style goes.”

In accordance with Billboard, the Grammys’ new Greatest Conventional Album class will acknowledge “excellence in albums of conventional nation music, each vocal and instrumental.”

“Conventional nation contains nation recordings that adhere to the extra conventional sound constructions of the nation style, together with rhythm and singing model, lyrical content material, in addition to conventional nation instrumentation comparable to acoustic guitar, metal guitar, fiddle, banjo, mandolin, piano, electrical guitar, and stay drums. It additionally contains sub-genres comparable to Western, Western Swing, and Outlaw nation.”

As Mason continued talking in regards to the Academy’s resolution to replace the nation classes on the Grammys, he additionally instructed that the change will present extra alternatives for artists to be celebrated amongst their friends.

“The problems have been, historically, lots of people that weren’t positive whether or not [an album] was Americana or roots or folks or nation had been simply jamming the whole lot into one class,” he mentioned. “There are clearly nuances between the completely different genres. These specialists in these genres perceive these nuances, and I’m fairly sure now you’re going to see the suitable folks going into Americana versus folks versus conventional nation. [The change] provides us a chance to place issues in additional particular classes.”

Mason defined that making modifications to the way in which nation music is honored on the Grammys permits the Recording Academy to remain present with the style’s evolution.

“I’m hopeful that that neighborhood understands that the academy is doing what it all the time does, which is keep in tune with what’s taking place of their style,” he completed.

In early 2025, after profitable a number of Grammys for her nation album, “Cowboy Carter,” Beyoncé confronted criticism from on-line customers who believed she wasn’t deserving of the respect.

Nonetheless, throughout her acceptance speech, the previous Future’s Baby member used her platform to share phrases of encouragement for these watching.