The Recording Academy has recently announced the addition of three new categories to the Grammy Awards. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, the new categories include Best African Music Performance, Best Pop Dance Recording, and Best Alternative Jazz Album.
The decision to introduce the Best African Music Performance category comes as African acts like Burna Boy, Wizkid, and Tems gain global popularity and achieve chart-topping success. This addition acknowledges the influence of the Afrobeats genre and showcases unique local expressions from across the African continent.
Subgenres such as Afrobeats, Afro-fusion, Afro pop, Bongo Flava, Ethio jazz, Kizomba, High Life, Fuji, Ndombolo, Mapouka, Ghanaian drill, Afro-house, and South African hip-hop will be eligible for consideration.
Previously, African-based songs dominated nominations in the Best Global Music Performance category, which debuted in 2022. With the new Best African Music Performance award, global songs from other genres like Latin music, K-pop, and Arabic music may now have a better chance at earning nominations in the Best Global Music Performance category.
The addition of the Best Pop Dance Recording category aims to provide pop stars who release dance-flavoured music with a dedicated space for recognition. This category allows them to compete separately from artists deeply rooted in dance music. Artists with dance songs previously contended for the Best Dance/Electronic Recording category, which saw winners ranging from Beyonce, Janet Jackson, Britney Spears, and Justin Timberlake to Skrillex, The Chemical Brothers, and Rufus Du Sol.
Another addition is the Best Alternative Jazz Album category, designed to acknowledge genre-blending and envelope-pushing music that combines jazz with other genres. This includes R&B, hip-hop, classical, contemporary improvisation, experimental, pop, rap, electronic/dance music, and spoken word.
In addition to the new categories, the Grammys have also made changes to the voting process. Two categories, Producer of the Year (Non-Classical) and Songwriter of the Year (Non-Classical), have been moved to the general field. Grammys voters are limited in the categories they can vote, however all voters are allowed to vote in the general field.
The changes were voted on and passed at the academy’s Board of Trustees meeting last month. The eligibility period for the 66th Grammys, which now has 94 categories, will be from October 1, 2022, to September 15, 2023. The nominations will be announced in November, and the awards ceremony will take place in early 2024.
