Music

Grammys Add Three New Categories, Including Best African Performance and Pop Dance Recording

"By introducing these three new categories, we are able to acknowledge and appreciate a broader array of artists," said Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy

Published by

Three new grammys will be handed out at next year’s awards show. On Tuesday, the Recording Academy announced the additional categories of Best African Performance, Best Pop Dance Recording, and Best Alternative Jazz Album.

“The Recording Academy is proud to announce these latest category changes to our awards process. These changes reflect our commitment to actively listen and respond to the feedback from our music community, accurately represent a diverse range of relevant musical genres, and stay aligned with the ever-evolving musical landscape,” said Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, in a press release. “By introducing these three new categories, we are able to acknowledge and appreciate a broader array of artists.”

In addition to the category additions, both the Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical and Producer of the Year, Non-Classical will move to the general field to allow all Grammy voters to cast votes in those respective categories. (The Songwriter category was added last year.)

“We are excited to honor and celebrate the creators and recordings in these categories, while also exposing a wider range of music to fans worldwide,” Mason Jr. added. The changes were voted on and passed during a Recording Academy Board of Trustees meeting last month.

The African Music Performance category will highlight the “regional melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic traditions” of Africa, including the likes of Afrobeats, Afro Pop, Ghanian Drill, and Ehtio Jazz, among other genres stemming from the content.

The Pop Dance Recording category focuses on “up-tempo, danceable music that follows a pop arrangement” and will emphasize vocal performance, melody, and hooks. The category will not include dance remixes of previously released music. The Best Alternative Jazz Album category, for its part, will recognize projects that are “genre-bending, envelope-pushing hybrid that mix jazz… with other genres.”

From Rolling Stone US.

Recent Posts

The Best World Cinema of 2024

As the credits roll signaling the end of 2024, here are some of the films…

December 24, 2024

Gminxr Promises Legacy-Building Set at Zomaland Mumbai

Punjabi hip-hop artist part of hits like AP Dhillon, Gurinder Gill and Shinda Kahlon’s ‘Brown…

December 24, 2024

SulaFest 2025: Divine, Ritviz x Karan Kanchan to Perform at Comeback Edition in Nashik

When Chai Met Toast, Madboy/Mink, Dualist Inquiry and more will also perform at the wine…

December 24, 2024

Paul McCartney Wants to Finish a New Solo Album Next Year

The musician says he hopes to return to a bunch of songs he was working…

December 24, 2024

‘Babygirl’ Lets Nicole Kidman Get Her Kink On

The actor delivers a no-holds-barred, everything-bared performance as a woman who finds sexual liberation through…

December 24, 2024

‘Nosferatu’: Robert Eggers’ Remake of Horror Classic Is Anything But Bloodless

The only thing that sucks here is a vampire — otherwise, 'The Witch' director's take…

December 24, 2024