The Grammys are introducing new rules for Best New Artist categories starting in 2026 and new Country categories

The Grammys are introducing some changes to its categories, including new rules for Best New Artist and some breakdowns of the country genre.

The Recording Academy announced on Thursday (June 12) that some rules for the 2026 Grammy Awards are getting tweaked, including carving out a new stand-alone category for Best Album Cover.

One of the biggest changes is the creation of two separate categories for country music: Best Traditional Country Album and Best Contemporary Country Album. Previously, there had only been one Best Country Album category, which was won by  Beyoncé in this year’s awards.

Another change is expanding the Best New Artist category to now allow acts who were featured on previous album of the year nominees, as long as their contributions fall below 20 per cent of the album’s music.

Additionally, the Best Recording Package and the Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package categories will now be combined into a single Best Recording Package category. This allows for the creation of the stand-alone Best Album Cover category.

The Recording Academy has also announced that the 68th Grammy Awards will take place on February 1, 2026.

In 2025’s edition, comedian Trevor Noah returned to host the event for the fifth consecutive year as Beyoncé led the way with 11 nominations, making her the most nominated artist in the awards’ history – she won the biggest award of the night, Album Of The Year, for ‘Cowboy Carter’ marking her first win in the category.

Kendrick Lamar walked away as the biggest winner of the night, clinching five awards including Record of The Year and Song Of The Year for ‘Not Like Us’.  He also took home the Grammys for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song for ‘Not Like Us’, which has also won Best Music Video.

Charli XCX won for Best Dance Pop Recording for ‘Von Dutch’ and Best Dance/Electronic Album for ‘Brat’. Sabrina Carpenter has won Best Pop Solo Performance for ‘Espresso’, while Justice and Tame Impala took home the Grammy for Best Dance/Electronic Recording with ‘Neverender’.

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