Grammys announce new categories and confirm date for 2026 ceremony
The Recording Academy have confirmed new categories and revealed the next edition of the Grammys will take place on February 1st, 2026, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Nominations won’t be revealed until November 7th, 2025, and ahead of voting getting underway, the Academy has made a series of changes to its rulebook, including an alteration to the ‘Best New Artist’ category.
Harvey Mason Jr, CEO of the Recording Academy, explained in a statement: “The Academy’s top priority is to represent the music people that we serve each year. That entails listening carefully to our members to make sure our rules and guidelines reflect today’s music and allow us to accurately recognize as many deserving creators as possible.”
Mason Jr continued: “As we kick off another exciting Grammy Season, we look forward to celebrating the amazing power of music and its ability to bring so many people together.”
‘Best New Artist’, which was won by Chappell Roan in 2025, has expanded its eligibility to allow artists who have previously featured on records nominated in the ‘Album of the Year’ category. However, they must have less than 20 per cent of playing time on the nominated album in order to be shortlisted for ‘Best New Artist’.
Other notable changes include renaming ‘Best Country Album’ to ‘Best Contemporary Country Album’ and the creation of the ‘Best Traditional Country Album’ category.
Furthermore, ‘Best Recording Package’ and ‘Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package’ categories have now been combined to create ‘Best Recording Package’. The Grammys have also announced the new category, ‘Best Album Cover’.
This year’s Grammy Awards was dominated by Kendrick Lamar, who won ‘Song of the Year’ and ‘Record of the Year’ for ‘Not Like Us’. Meanwhile, Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter was crowned ‘Album of the Year’ and ‘Best Country Album’.
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