Best Asian pop and Latin song are among the five new categories being added to the Grammys next year, alongside updated eligibility criteria for the best new artist and best album categories.
The best Asian pop performance category will recognize “artistic excellence” in performances originating from or widely recognized within Asian markets, the Recording Academy said. That includes K-pop, J-pop and C-pop songs featuring meaningful use of one or more Asian languages.
The additional categories announced by the Recording Academy on Tuesday also include best R&B collaboration or duo/group performance, best traditional folk album and best traditional pop vocal performance.
“2027 is going to be an amazing year for the Grammy Awards, and one that reflects the extraordinary growth we’re seeing across music,” Grammys CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said in a statement.
The executive noted that the changes reflect the breadth of the modern music industry and the many artists and genres powering it.
The best Latin song category honors songwriters whose work is recorded predominantly in Spanish. Meanwhile, traditional pop vocal performance will be awarded to performers whose style of music is outside the present forms of contemporary pop categories.
The introduction of best traditional folk album creates a category specifically for traditional folk recordings. As a result, best folk album has been renamed best contemporary folk album.
Similarly, the best R&B performance category will be renamed best R&B solo performance following the creation of the collaboration performance category.
One of the most notable changes for 2027 involves the best new artist category, with the Academy increasing the maximum number of times an artist may be submitted from three to four. The award is often controversial, since the concept of “new” is subjective, but next year’s Grammys will allow multiple artists to get a fourth shot at being nominated. An artist who has received a Grammy nomination in the past is not eligible, according to the rule book.
The criteria an album must meet to be Grammy eligible has also loosened. The threshold of new recordings has been lowered from 75% to 66% to “reduce the exclusion of entries that are widely recognized throughout the music industry as new albums,” the Academy said.
The Grammys is extending recognition to songwriters and composers. In the future, they will be able to receive the statuettes and achievement certificates that are currently afforded producers and engineers.
The Grammys will also allow certain qualified members to vote in more categories. A new opt-in voting option called Ballot Plus will allow eligible voting members with expertise across multiple genres to vote in up to 15 peer-related categories based on their verified professional credits.
In addition, internet-only releases will now be eligible for best album notes and best historical album categories if supporting materials are included with the commercial download.
The 69th Grammys will be held at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 7, 2027.
