The 2027 Grammys will introduce five categories: 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 Recording Academy announced the changes on June 16, 2026, for the 69th ceremony, scheduled for February 7, 2027. It also revised Best New Artist rules, album eligibility, songwriter recognition, and voting procedures.
The update goes beyond adding names to a list. Some categories now distinguish types of performances that previously competed together; others introduce specific requirements concerning language, repertoire, or authorship. The Academy says the 2027 edition will have 100 categories in total.
What are the five new categories at the 2027 Grammys?
| Official category | What it recognizes | Who receives the award |
|---|---|---|
| Best Asian Pop Music Performance | Pop performances associated with Asian markets, including K-pop, J-pop, and C-pop, featuring meaningful use of one or more Asian languages. | Performing artists. |
| Best R&B Collaboration or Duo/Group Performance | Contemporary R&B recordings by duos, groups, or collaborating artists. | Performing artists. |
| Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance | Tracks and singles with vocals in a traditional pop style, distinct from present-day forms of pop. | Performing artists. |
| Best Traditional Folk Album | Albums of traditional folk music, considered separately from contemporary folk releases. | Eligible album contributors, under the category's credit requirements. |
| Best Latin Song | Songwriting for a newly written Latin song released in the eligibility period, with at least 51% of its lyrics in Spanish. | Songwriters. |
Asian pop: language and musical style matter
For Best Asian Pop Music Performance, the official definition focuses on musical style and its association with Asian markets, not a performer's ethnicity or nationality. Asian-language content must be meaningful to the recording: isolated words do not qualify, and a song performed entirely in English is not eligible in this particular category. That does not prevent consideration in another appropriate category.
Latin song: an award for songwriting, not performance
Best Latin Song has a crucial distinction: the Grammy goes to the songwriters, not automatically to the singer. A performer receives this category's award only if also credited as a songwriter. The Recording Academy also requires at least 51% of the lyrics to be in Spanish. Being a Latin artist or recording a song in Portuguese does not, by itself, satisfy this category's language requirement.
R&B and folk: the split also renames existing categories
With the addition of a category for R&B duos, groups, and collaborations, the former Best R&B Performance becomes Best R&B Solo Performance. In folk, the former Best Folk Album becomes Best Contemporary Folk Album, while Best Traditional Folk Album separates traditional-style releases. The new folk category uses credits and album participation to determine who receives statuettes; it is not an unrestricted award to everyone involved in making the record.
What changed in eligibility rules?
Artists may enter Best New Artist up to four times
The limit on how many times an artist may be submitted for Best New Artist has risen from three to four. This is the number of times an artist may be entered for category consideration, not a requirement to release four songs or albums or to receive four nominations. The Recording Academy also revised the category's description and guidelines concerning an artist's impact during the eligibility period. The higher cap does not guarantee a nomination or remove the remaining eligibility requirements.
Eligible albums now need 66% new recordings, rather than 75%
In categories requiring an album of new recordings, the threshold has dropped from 75% to 66%. In practice, some albums that fell short of the former percentage may now be considered under the lower threshold, provided they meet all other requirements. The revision does not automatically make compilations, reissues, or every album eligible.
Digital releases and songwriting credits receive broader recognition
Best Album Notes and Best Historical Album now permit internet-only releases when the supplementary materials and liner notes are included in the commercial download. Simply making a web page available does not, by itself, meet this condition.
In addition, songwriters and composers of new material on winning albums in most genre album categories will receive Grammy statuettes and Achievement Certificates, under the Academy's expanded recognition policy. This should not be interpreted as an automatic extension to every album category or every credit.
How does the voting change work?
The new Ballot Plus is an optional alternative for voting members with demonstrated expertise across multiple genres. Following verification of professional credits, these members may vote in up to 15 peer-related categories, regardless of genre field. Members who do not opt in or meet the requirements retain the standard system, with votes in up to ten categories spread across three genre fields, in addition to applicable general-field categories.
This changes the options available to qualified Academy voters. It does not create a public vote or remove the eligibility screening applied to entries.
When are the nominations and ceremony?
The eligibility period for the 2027 Grammys runs from August 31, 2025, through August 28, 2026. Entries were accepted from July 7 through August 21, 2026, so a work released in the final week of eligibility still had to be entered by August 21.
The Recording Academy's calendar schedules the nominations announcement for November 16, 2026, and the ceremony for February 7, 2027, in Los Angeles. The still-upcoming nominees list should not be confused with the categories and rules, which have already been officially published.
For listeners, the essential difference is that the Grammys will distinguish more performance types and musical styles while easing certain entry requirements. New categories do not guarantee success for a genre or artist; nominees and winners are still determined under Academy rules and by its eligible voting membership.
