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The Grammys Country Category Change Was Long Overdue. It's Bigger than Beyoncé.
- Beyoncé won Best Country Album at the 2025 Grammys for her genre-expanding album Cowboy Carter, marking her first country category victory.
- In response to a renewed interest in traditional country music and requests from the country music community, the Recording Academy decided to change the title of the Best Country Album award and introduce an additional category.
- Beginning with the 2026 Grammy Awards, the existing Country Album category will be retitled to highlight contemporary styles, while a newly created category will recognize artists dedicated to traditional, roots-oriented country music.
- Harvey Mason Jr., the head of the Recording Academy, noted that the new category created by members will enable the recognition of a broader spectrum of artists and styles within country music.
- This expansion aims to better represent country music’s evolving landscape, creating more opportunities for varied artists and recognizing both modern and traditional influences.
23 Articles
23 Articles
Debate Emerges After Grammys Add ‘Traditional Country Album’ Category Following Beyoncé Win
The Recording Academy has announced a new Grammy award category for Best Traditional Country Album, a move that comes just months after Beyoncé made headlines for winning Best Country Album with her chart-topping record “Cowboy Carter.” The change, revealed in a June 12 press release detailing updates for the 68th Annual Grammy Awards, reflects the Academy’s efforts to more clearly distinguish between contemporary and traditional styles within t…
Grammys New Country Music Category After Beyoncé's Win
CBSCBS The 2025 Grammy Awards were a great event full of amazing talent and deserved wins. And while nothing seemed strange that Beyoncé finally won the coveted Album of the Year for Cowboy Carter, it was suspicious that she won Best Country Album. Mostly due to the fact that it’s not really a country album to begin with. Beyoncé herself even states that it’s not a “country album, it’s a Beyoncé album.” Related: Rigged? Beyoncé Wins Album Of The…
Black America Web
The Beyoncé Effect: The Grammys Switching Up Country Album Categories Leads To Major Side-Eye
Source: Emma McIntyre / Getty The country world is shooketh after Beyoncé came through and crushed the buildings. In March 2024, Beyoncé dropped her country album Cowboy Carter and won the Best Country Album Grammy, and became the first Black artist to win the award. Country artists (who…how can I say this…drive pickup trucks with big tires and cuff the brim of their baseball caps to the point of strangulation) got all upset and forgot that Quee…
Grammy Awards Slammed After Splitting Best Country Album Into Two Categories Following Beyoncé's 'Cowboy Carter' Win
The Recording Academy is splitting its Best Country Album into two categories after Beyoncé’s historic win at the 67th Grammy Awards for Cowboy Carter made her the first Black woman to receive the honor.At the 2025 ceremony, Beyoncé also won Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “II Most Wanted” with Miley Cyrus, and Album of the Year for her first full album in the country genre, making her the most-awarded artist in Grammy history, with a tot…
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