The Academy increased the maximum number of times an artist may be submitted for best new artist from three to four. The old rule – “An artist may not enter into this category more than three times, including as a performing member of an established group” – had been in place at least since the 62nd annual Grammy Awards in 2020. The Academy said the point of the new rule is “reflecting the evolving nature of artist development.”

This rule change was good news for Ella Langley, Megan Moroney, Ken Carson and Ravyn Lenae, all of whom had been entered three times previously in the category and would have been disqualified under the old rules. Langley and Moroney were entered in each of the last three years; Carson and Lenae in each of the last two years as well as at the 2023 ceremony.

Geese had been entered twice in the category (in 2023 and 2024), while its lead singer, Cameron Winter, was entered last year following the release of his solo debut album, Heavy Metal. Those three entries would likewise have made Geese ineligible.

“Last year, we formed a Best New Artist task force and charged them with reviewing the current guidelines and Category description to determine if anything needed to be refreshed or changed. That task force met, discussed, deliberated, and convened artists, and they came to the table with recommendations, which is what you’re seeing implemented this year. The changes that have been made to this category will allow for a little bit more flexibility and reflect the reality that artist development looks different than it did even a few years ago.”

Field: Pop & Dance/Electronic Field

Notes: This category recognizes excellence in Asian pop music performances originating from or widely recognized within Asian markets, including but not limited to K-pop, J-pop and C-pop, with meaningful use of one or more Asian languages. Awards are presented to the performing artist(s).

This joins a growing number of categories that have the name of a geographic region embedded into their name. Others are Best Música Mexicana Album (including Tejano) and Best African Music Performance.

Harvey Mason jr. Says: “Asian pop music is one of the most significant and sustained forces in the global music industry. Its impact is well-established, and it continues to grow and shape music culture around the world. There’s so much music coming out of that region, between J-pop and Mandopop and K-pop, and I’m so excited to recognize its impact in next year’s show. As Asian pop’s influence has continued to grow within our process, our members and Trustees felt this was the right moment to create a Category that more accurately reflects the genre’s scale, artistry and global impact. With an integrated approach to music, performance and presentation, Asian pop is distinct in its musical identity. As we move forward, we can continue to explore additional ways of recognizing even more creators within the broader Asian music community.”

Official Category Description: “This category recognizes artistic excellence in Asian pop music performances. Eligible recordings include contemporary popular music originating from or widely recognized within Asian markets, including K-Pop, J-Pop, and C-Pop.

“Asian pop is a distinct and globally recognized form of popular music characterized by its integrated approach to music, performance, and presentation. Eligible recordings typically feature melody-driven composition, mainstream pop songwriting, and commercially oriented production, as recognized within their respective markets, and may incorporate elements of pop-adjacent styles such as pop-rock, pop R&B, and other related forms. Recordings in this category are often characterized by genre-blending arrangements, layered production, and dynamic structural shifts designed to support both audio and performance-based delivery.

“Recordings must feature meaningful use of one or more Asian languages. An Asian language should play a significant role within the song in bilingual or multilingual structures such that the recording is identifiable with that language. Recordings performed entirely in an Asian language are eligible. Incidental or minimal use (e.g., isolated words, adlibs, or brief phrases) does not qualify. Recordings performed entirely in English are not eligible in this category and remain eligible in other appropriate categories.

“The musical style is determinative of eligibility, not the ethnicity or nationality of the performer(s).

“Other popular music forms which originate in Asia or the Asian diaspora but do not meet the genre criteria for this category are eligible in other categories as appropriate.

“Only one version of a recording is eligible in a performance category in any year. A recording which is eligible and entered in another performance category is not also eligible in Best Asian Pop Music Performance for a different version featuring an Asian language performance.”

Field: Latin, Global, African, Reggae & New Age, Ambient, or Chant Field

Notes: This category recognizes the achievement of songwriters for newly written Latin songs predominantly in the Spanish language (at least 51% of the lyrics). Awards are presented to the songwriter(s) of new material.

With this addition, there will be seven songwriting categories in specific genres. The others are best rock song, best R&B song, best rap song, best country song, best American roots song and best song written for visual media (includes film, television, video games, and other visual media). In addition, there are two hybrid performance/song categories – best gospel performance/song and best contemporary Christian music performance/song.

Harvey Mason jr. Says: “We all know the popularity and the success of Latin music. Bad Bunny just won the Grammy for Album of the Year for an all-Spanish-language album this year. Latin music is one of the most vibrant and influential forces in the world, but until now, Latin songwriters have not had a dedicated award within the Latin Field. This new Category creates meaningful recognition for those songwriters, expanding representation for the genre within the Grammy process as it continues to make a global impact.”

Official Category Description: “This category recognizes the achievement of songwriters for newly written Latin songs. Eligible works must be predominantly in the Spanish language (at least 51% of the lyrics) and released during the current eligibility year. Awards are presented to the songwriter(s) only, not to the performing artist(s), unless they are also credited as songwriter(s).

“Recordings may represent any Latin genre, including, but not limited to, Latin Pop, Música Mexicana, Música Urbana, Tropical Latin, Latin Rock/Alternative, provided they meet the language and release requirements.”

Field: R&B, Rap & Spoken Word Poetry Field

Notes: This category recognizes excellence in contemporary R&B performances (vocal or instrumental) for works by established duos or groups, as well as collaborative works between solo artists, duos and groups. Awards are presented to the performing artist(s). With the addition of this new category, the Best R&B Performance category has been revised and renamed Best R&B Solo Performance.

This will put R&B on par with pop and country, which have long had two performance categories for solo and duo/group performances.

Official Category Description: “This category recognizes excellence in contemporary R&B performances for works by established duos or groups, as well as collaborative works between solo artists, duos, and groups. Eligible recordings may incorporate influences including hip-hop, pop, and electronic textures, while remaining clearly rooted in R&B. The focus is on the performance itself. This category is intended to honor current, forward moving R&B performances, distinct from traditionally-styled works.”

Field: Jazz, Traditional Pop, Contemporary Instrumental & Musical Theater Field

Notes: This category recognizes excellence in singles and tracks that consist of a type and style of song and/or performance that cannot properly be intermingled with present forms of pop music. Awards are presented to the performing artist(s).

Such performances previously vied for Pop Solo Performance or Pop Duo/Group Performance, where they were sometimes out of place.

This new category joins best traditional pop vocal album, which was introduced for the 1992 ceremony, and marks the first time the Academy has had more than one traditional pop category.

Official Category Description: “This category recognizes excellence in singles and tracks that consist of a type and style of song and/or performance that cannot properly be intermingled with present forms of pop music. This includes new performances of songs from sources such as the Great American Songbook and classic forms of popular music of any era.

“Recordings eligible for this Category include:

Field: Country & American Roots Music Field

Notes: This category recognizes excellence in albums of traditional folk recordings. Awards are presented to artist(s), producer(s), engineer(s)/mixer(s), and songwriter(s) of new songs, if other than artist(s), of greater than 50% playing time on the album. With the addition of this new category, the Best Folk Album category has been revised and renamed Best Contemporary Folk Album.

The Academy is going back to the two folk awards – best contemporary folk album and best traditional folk album – it presented prior to the 2012 consolidation.

This will increase to three the number of genres where the Grammys have categories explicitly called “contemporary” and “traditional.”  The other two are country and blues.

Official Category Description (Traditional Folk): “This category recognizes excellence in albums of traditional folk recordings. Traditional folk includes folk recordings with folk song structures, harmonic structures, and rhythms, including traditional folk instruments such as piano, harmonica, traditional woodwind, strings, and percussion from around the world. It also includes song types such as old time, a capella, work songs, shanty, protest, call and response, ballad, and other traditional folk song structures created in and/or passed through community-rooted tradition distinct from Regional Roots.

“Nominees are Artist(s) of greater than 50% playing time on the album. Grammy statuettes awarded to Artist(s), Producer(s), Engineer/Mixer(s), Songwriter(s) of new songs, if other than Artist(s), of greater than 50% playing time on the album.

Official Category Description (Contemporary Folk): “This category recognizes excellence in contemporary folk recordings. It includes folk recordings that vary from traditional folk song and harmonic structures and may employ non-traditional folk song structures including composition and narrative expression. It can be community-rooted, and it may use production and arrangements of song types such as indie folk, ethno-folk, protest, and folk rock, distinct from the pop approach. It may include traditional folk instruments and non-traditional folk instruments, as well as contemporary production techniques.

“Nominees are Artist(s) of greater than 50% playing time on the album. Grammy statuettes awarded to Artist(s), Producer(s), Engineer/Mixer(s), Songwriter(s) of new songs, if other than Artist(s), of greater than 50% playing time on the album.”

Notes: The Academy has long touted its “10/3” voting structure, in which, after voting members vote in the six General Field categories (album, record and song of the year, best new artist, songwriter of the year, non-classical and producer of the year, non-classical), they may then vote in no more than 10 other categories spread across no more than three fields. The Academy has said that this compels members to vote only in the areas in which they have the greatest expertise, and cuts down on voters dabbling in areas in which they may be less informed. Now the Academy is offering some voters an alternative in which they can vote in up to 15 categories. There are conditions, but many will argue that the Academy is watering down what was a sensible rule change.

The Academy is adding “Ballot Plus,” which it calls “an opt-in alternative to the 10/3 voting structure that allows voting members with expertise across multiple genres to vote in up to 15 peer-related categories, regardless of field, based on their verified professional credits and contributions.”

As music creators increasingly work across genres and disciplines, the thinking goes, voting members’ peer expertise may extend beyond the current “10/3” voting structure. Ballot Plus gives members the opportunity to vote in additional categories that reflect where they are actively contributing to the music industry, based on professional credits and contributions.

More details from the Academy: “Voting Members who opt in must submit credits by a specified deadline. Participation in Ballot Plus is subject to verification of credits. Voting members who do not opt-in, miss the selection window, or do not meet the verification requirements will receive the standard 10/3 voting ballot. Voting members will receive more information about Ballot Plus in the coming months.”

Harvey Mason jr. Says: “Ballot Plus gives Grammy voters that are working in more than just a couple of genres the ability to vote across the ballot, ensuring that ability and access is tied to credits and authenticating that person is actually an expert or creator in the different Fields they want to vote in. It is a great use of our voting body because we need their expertise, we need their ears, we need their opinions in all the areas that they’re familiar with.”

Notes: The threshold of new recordings required on an eligible album is being lowered from 75% to 66% to cut down on albums being ruled ineligible that are widely recognized throughout the music industry as new albums.

In the current musical landscape, the thinking goes, many artists are not releasing every track within the current eligibility period. Some albums take multiple years to make. Lowering the threshold creates greater inclusion and gives flexibility to artists that may need and want to include their earlier singles to complete their album.

Notes: The Academy has expanded recognition for songwriters and composers. Songwriters and composers of new material on the winning albums in most genre album categories will now receive Grammy statuettes and achievement certificates in parity with the recognition currently afforded to producers and engineers in those categories.

Harvey Mason jr. Says: “It’s a huge step and hopefully a great accomplishment that lets them realize that they are so important to the whole process, the whole ecosystem of music, and the music business. We have made so much great progress and changes in respect to the songwriter craft in recent years, from our launch of the Songwriters & Composers Wing to the addition of the Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical Category just a few years ago. It all starts with songwriters; none of the awards really can happen without songwriters. It’s really important they feel acknowledged and celebrated in the same way producers and engineers do.”

Notes: Internet-only releases are eligible in Best Album Notes and Best Historical Album if the additional materials and album notes are part of the commercial download, ensuring albums released solely in digital form remain eligible for consideration.

This reflects the realities of today’s musical landscape, where much of music consumption happens digitally, with many albums not released in physical form. This ensures that albums released solely in digital form remain eligible for Grammy consideration.