The Grammy Awards are getting a makeover ahead of the 2027 ceremony.
The Recording Academy announced a series of significant updates for the 69th Annual Grammy Awards, including five brand-new categories, expanded recognition for songwriters and major changes to the Best New Artist race.
According to Variety, the updates are designed to better reflect today’s music industry as artists build careers differently than they did even a few years ago. The changes will officially take effect for the Grammy Awards ceremony on Feb. 7, 2027, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Among the biggest headlines is a change that could give several artists another shot at one of the Grammys’ most coveted categories.
Best New Artist Rule Gets a Major Update
For years, artists could only be submitted for Best New Artist three times before becoming ineligible. The Recording Academy has now increased that limit to four submissions.
Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. explained the reasoning in a Q&A posted on the Grammys website.
“We’ve heard from the music community that the way artists are being developed is changing, and the time it’s taking to find success or recognition can take longer than it once did,” Mason said.
Per Billboard, the change could benefit artists who previously appeared headed toward disqualification despite recent breakthroughs. Ella Langley, Megan Moroney, Ken Carson, Ravyn Lenae and Geese are among the artists who now remain eligible under the revised rules.
The Recording Academy is also loosening album eligibility requirements. According to Variety, albums will now only need 66% newly recorded material to qualify for Grammy consideration, down from the previous 75% threshold. The change is intended to prevent projects that include live recordings, remixes or previously released material from being excluded despite being widely considered new albums.
Songwriters are also receiving expanded recognition. It was also reported that songwriters and composers of new material on winning albums in most genre album categories will now receive Grammy statuettes and Achievement Certificates, similar to the recognition already given to producers and engineers.
“It all starts with songwriters; none of the awards really can happen without songwriters,” Mason said.
Five New Categories Join the Grammy Lineup
The Recording Academy is also adding five new categories for 2027:
- Best Asian Pop Music Performance
- Best R&B Collaboration or Duo/Group Performance
- Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance
- Best Traditional Folk Album
- Best Latin Song
According to Forbes, the introduction of Best Asian Pop Music Performance marks one of the Grammys’ most significant acknowledgments of Asian-language pop music to date. The category will recognize performances originating from or widely recognized in Asian markets and featuring meaningful use of one or more Asian languages, including genres such as K-pop, J-pop and C-pop.
The category could create new Grammy opportunities for artists across Asia while still allowing them to compete in major categories such as Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year.
Additional changes include renaming Best R&B Performance to Best R&B Solo Performance and Best Folk Album to Best Contemporary Folk Album.
The Recording Academy is also introducing a new optional voting system called Ballot Plus, which will allow eligible members with verified expertise across multiple genres to vote in up to 15 peer-reviewed categories.
The Grammy Awards will return on Feb. 7, 2027, marking the show’s first year airing on ABC and streaming on Hulu and Disney+ following the Recording Academy’s departure from CBS.
“Again, it all goes back to making sure our process is reflective of what’s happening in our industry today,” Mason said.
