LOS ANGELES, USA – The Recording Academy announced on Friday, June 30, 2023, that three new categories have been added to the 66th GRAMMY Awards set to take place in 2024.
The newly introduced categories are Best African Music Performance, Best Alternative Jazz Album, and Best Pop Dance Recording.
This move is an effort to recognize the diversity and evolution of music genres on a global scale.
Additionally, the Academy has moved two existing categories, Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical and Songwriter Of The Year, Non-Classical, to the General Field, allowing all GRAMMY voters to cast their votes in these non-genre-specific categories.
The new categories and changes were voted on and passed during the Recording Academy’s semiannual Board of Trustees meeting in May 2023.
Recording Academy CEO, Harvey Mason Jr., expressed enthusiasm for the changes. “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 Mason.
The Best African Music Performance category will recognize tracks and singles that feature unique local expressions from the African continent, including a wide range of genres like Afrobeat, Afro Pop, Afrobeats, Amapiano, Bongo Flava, and many others.
The Best Pop Dance Recording category is geared toward tracks and singles featuring up-tempo, danceable music that follows a pop arrangement, focusing on strong rhythmic beats and electronic-based instruments.
Lastly, the Best Alternative Jazz Album category aims to acknowledge artistic excellence in Alternative Jazz albums, which is a genre-blending hybrid mixing jazz with other genres such as R&B, Hip-Hop, Classical, Experimental, Pop, Rap, Electronic/Dance music, and Spoken Word.
Harvey Mason Jr. also highlighted the significance of relocating the Producer Of The Year and Songwriter Of The Year categories.
He stated, “By introducing these three new categories, we are able to acknowledge and appreciate a broader array of artists – and relocating the Producer Of the Year and Songwriter Of The Year categories to the General Field ensures that all our voters can participate in recognizing excellence in these fields.”
The music community is reacting positively to these changes, as they reflect a more inclusive and modern approach to recognizing talent across various music genres.
Stay tuned for more updates as we approach the 2024 GRAMMY Awards, which promise to be an exciting and diverse celebration of music from around the world.
