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.”
Either way, in order to prevent something like that from happening again, this is a look into Grammys new country music category.
That being said, the Best Country Album award no longer exists. Instead, they will include Best Contemporary Country Album, which is the new version of the award, along with the newly introduced Best Traditional Country Album.
Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said in a statement that “It’s so important that our rules and guidelines are fair and equitable for musicians of all crafts and varying expertise, and that the Grammy Awards truly reflect and honor the full spectrum of music creators.:
The distinction between the two categories focuses on the style of performances and included instrumentation. The Traditional Country album will include “country recordings that adhere to the more traditional sound structure of the country genre, including rhythm and singing style, lyrical content, as well as traditional country instrumentation,” for example, acoustic guitar, steel guitar, fiddle, banjo, mandolin, piano, and more.
As for the Best Contemporary Country Album, it’s less defined to give more freedom for the albums that could be included in the country genre. It’s described as recognizing country music that remains reminiscent and relevant to the legacy of country music’s culture, while also engaging in more contemporary music forms.” The entries in this category should “create a sensibility that reflects the broad spectrum of contemporary country style and culture.”
Along with that, the Grammys new country music category hopefully benefits artists who fall outside of mainstream as well, like Charley Crockett, Colter Wall, and more, who have previously been nominated in the Americana and American roots categories. And of course, there are more nuances within the genre, and Mason is hoping to include everyone in a fair category.
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