The Recording Academy is set to welcome a new country album category at the next Grammy Awards.
Billboard reports that the Best Country Album category has been renamed Best Contemporary Country Album for the 68th Grammy Awards, and a new category will be introduced: Best Traditional Country Album.
Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. told the publication that a proposal to have two new categories has been submitted several times before this year.
“The community of people that are making country music in all different subgenres came to us with a proposal and said we would like to have more variety in how our music is honored,” Mason said. “They said, we think we need more space for our music to be celebrated and honored.”
“It makes country parallel with what’s happening in other genres,” he added. “But it is also creating space for where this genre is going.”
According to the Recording Academy, traditional country music adheres to “more traditional sound structures of the country genre, including rhythm and singing style, lyrical content, as well as traditional country instrumentation such as acoustic guitar, steel guitar, fiddle, banjo, mandolin, piano, electric guitar, and live drums.”
Beyoncé fans were quick to point out that the move came after the pop star became the first Black artist to win Best Country Album at the 67th Grammy Awards for Cowboy Carter.
Several Black artists are changing the shape of modern country music — a reminder that in the US, the genre is rooted in Black music. In 2025, Shaboozey’s breakout song, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” was nominated for both the Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance Grammy categories, though he didn’t win.
Other Black artists are also reframing country music, including INK, Kashus Culpepper, Julie Williams, The Kentucky Gentleman, and Tiera Kennedy. In fact, Kennedy appeared on the Cowboy Carter album cut, “Blackbiird,” which also feature Black country singers, Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts and Tanner Adell.
