The Recording Academy is reshaping the Grammys again for 2027, adding five categories, loosening a key Best New Artist rule and expanding who gets recognized in several album categories. Billboard reported that the show will now have 100 categories, up from 78 after the 2012 consolidation; the changes take effect for the 69th annual ceremony, set for Feb. 7, 2027, on ABC, Disney+ and Hulu. ALSO READ: Grammys 2026 winners: Bad Bunny takes home Album of the Year, Kendrick Lamar shines The new categories are Best Asian Pop Music Performance, Best R&B Collaboration or Duo/Group Performance, Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance, Best Traditional Folk Album and Best Latin Song. The Academy is creating separate lanes for music that were often squeezed into broader categories. Asian pop now has its own performance award, R&B duos and collaborations get a dedicated category, traditional pop has a home of its own, folk splits into traditional and contemporary tracks, and songwriters working in Latin music get a category specifically for newly written songs in Spanish. ALSO READ: Grammy Awards 2024: ‘Afro beat’ gets due recognition after 65 years R&B and folk get new lanes Best R&B Performance has been renamed ‘Best R&B Solo Performance,’ while Best Folk Album is now ‘Best Contemporary Folk Album.’ With ‘Best Traditional Folk Album' added, the Grammys now distinguish between folk rooted in older forms and folk that draws on more modern songwriting and production. Best New Artist rules loosen An artiste can now be submitted up to four times instead of three before becoming ineligible, a change the Academy says reflects how long it can take for artistes to break through. The official update says the rule is meant to “give more flexibility around how artistes develop and when they reach wider recognition.” ALSO READ: Grammy’s Recording Academy to expand operations in Rwanda That matters for artists such as Ella Langley, Megan Moroney, Ken Carson and Ravyn Lenae, who had already been entered three times and would have been ruled out under the old system. Geese, which had two prior entries, would also have been in trouble under the earlier rule because of lead singer Cameron Winter’s solo entry. A new approach to Grammy voting The Academy is introducing Ballot Plus, an opt-in option for members with verified credits across more than one area of the business. Under the standard system, voters are directed to choose up to 10 categories across up to three genre fields, plus the General Field. Ballot Plus lets eligible members vote in up to 15 peer-related categories, regardless of field, as long as their credits are verified. In practice, the Academy is trying to widen access without losing the idea that voters should cast ballots in areas where they have real experience. Two eligibility updates First, the threshold for new recordings on an eligible album will drop from 75% to 66%. A move, the Academy says, will keep more albums in the running when the industry already treats them as new releases. The change reflects how albums are made today. Many artistes release songs over a longer stretch, sometimes across several years, before finishing the full project. Lowering the threshold gives them more room to include earlier singles without losing eligibility. Second, internet-only releases remain eligible for Best Album Notes and Best Historical Album as long as the extra materials and notes are included in the commercial download. That keeps digital-only projects in play as more music is released without a physical edition. Songwriters and composers getting more credit On winning albums in most genre album categories, they will now receive Grammy statuettes and achievement certificates, matching the recognition already given to producers and engineers in those categories. The Academy says the change reflects the central role writers play in the music economy, especially as more songs are built through collaboration across studios, genres and production teams.
