Grammys Broaden Scope
Recording Academy Adds Five New Categories for 2027 Grammys Amid Global Music Market Evolution
Key Points
For the new **Best Latin Song** category, the Recording Academy specified that eligible songs must have **at least 51% of their lyrics in Spanish**.
The Recording Academy’s **Best Asian Pop Music Performance** definition includes not only meaningful use of Asian languages, but also that the works are made by **artists of Asian origin or recognized locally** (per the category description reported).
K-pop’s recent Grammy track record is being used to frame the new category’s stakes: the report cites **BTS nominations for “Dynamite” and “Butter” without wins**, **Blackpink’s Rosé failing to win for “APT.”**, and says the Netflix film soundtrack **“Golden” became the first K-pop-related genre work to win a Grammy**—but not an individual K-pop artist’s major prize.
Beyond genre expansion and voting tweaks, the Academy also announced structural changes to recognition and eligibility: **winners of albums in most genre categories will also receive a statuette and a certificate of merit**, and **releases available only online will become eligible for “best album notes”** (and an additional album-notes-related honor described as “best histo…” in the report).
Regarding **Ballot Plus**, the report specifies it is **optional**: members with verified expertise can opt into the system to vote in up to **15** peer-related categories, while members who do not opt in will **continue using the existing voting structure**.
The Recording Academy will add five new Grammy categories at the 69th annual ceremony on February 7, 2027, bringing the total to 100 awards Rolling Stone. The headline addition is Best Asian Pop Music Performance, covering K-pop, J-pop, and C-pop — a direct response to years of high-profile Asian artists receiving nominations but no major wins The Korea Herald.
CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said the changes "speak to the breadth of today's music industry" and reflect "the extraordinary growth we're seeing across music" The Recording Academy. Alongside the new categories, the Academy overhauled eligibility rules and voting procedures.
Five New Categories and What They Cover
Best Asian Pop Music Performance requires songs to have meaningful use of at least one Asian language. Artists must be of Asian origin or widely recognized locally ABS-CBN via The Recording Academy. Crucially, English-heavy hits like BTS's "Dynamite" would not qualify under this rule, forcing labels to choose between the new specialized award and the harder-to-win general field The Korea Herald.
Best Latin Song is a songwriter's award — not for the performer. Songs must have at least 51% of their lyrics in Spanish Hypebot. The category was driven partly by Bad Bunny's *Debí Tirar Más Fotos* winning Album of the Year in 2026, the first entirely Spanish-language album to do so. The other three new categories are Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance, Best R&B Collaboration or Duo/Group Performance, and Best Traditional Folk Album Rolling Stone.
K-Pop's Grammy Glass Ceiling Drove the Asian Pop Push
BTS received nominations for "Dynamite" in 2021 and "Butter" in 2022 but won neither. Rosé of Blackpink also failed to win for "APT." at the 2026 ceremony The Korea Herald. The first Grammy win tied to K-pop came when "Golden," from the Netflix film *KPop Demon Hunters*, took Best Song Written for Visual Media in 2026 — but that was a genre-adjacent win, not an individual K-pop artist's major prize Netflix Tudum.
Some critics argue the new category could "silo" Asian artists. By setting language requirements, the Academy may discourage voters from nominating these artists in the General Field — Song of the Year, Record of the Year — essentially keeping them in a sub-field Forbes. The Japan Times notes that J-pop and C-pop artists, who lack K-pop's U.S. radio footprint, may actually benefit the most from the new lane.
Eligibility Rules Get Looser, Voting Gets More Flexible
Albums now need only 66% newly recorded material to qualify — down from 75% Rolling Stone. This reflects the streaming era's trend of deluxe editions and slow-rolling singles. The Best New Artist submission limit also rises from three to four tries, a change that directly benefits artists like Ella Langley, who hit the old cap before her 2026 commercial breakthrough Billboard.
A new optional system called Ballot Plus lets verified expert members vote in up to 15 categories tied to their professional work, up from the previous limit of 10 categories across 3 fields The Recording Academy. Members who skip Ballot Plus keep the old voting structure. Critics warn the change could boost the influence of prolific producers who work across many genres Stereogum.
Songwriters Get Statuettes, Online Releases Get More Recognition
Writers and composers of new material on winning genre albums will now receive a physical Grammy statuette and a certificate of merit Hypebot. Previously, that privilege went mainly to producers and engineers. The Academy also ruled that releases available only online are now fully eligible for Best Album Notes and Best Historical Album, provided supporting materials are included in the digital download Billboard.
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