While most Grammy awards have straightforward titles, some category titles do not clearly explain what the artist is truly getting the award for or how they qualify for a nomination.
To prepare for the 67th Grammy Awards in February, here are clarifications for 10 categories often misconstrued.
Best New Artist
Sabrina Carpenter is nominated for Best New Artist at the upcoming Grammys but has released music since 2015. Victoria Monét who won the category last year, has also released albums since 2015. Even though the category's name may seem exclusive to brand new artists that is not necessarily who qualifies.
According to the Grammys, a “new” artist is “any performing artist or established performing group who releases, during the eligibility year, the recording that first establishes the public identity of that artist.” Once an artist is nominated for a Grammy in any other category, they are no longer eligible for a Best New Artist nomination.
In Sabrina Carpenter's case, she has never previously been nominated for an award. Her August 2024 album “Short ‘n Sweet” established her “public identity” in the music industry, qualifying her for the nomination despite her previous years in the music industry.
Song of the Year and Record of the Year
The nominations in the Song of the Year and Record of the Year categories are full of mainstream songs, but the titles do not make clear the difference in each category’s qualifications for a nomination.
Song of the Year is a songwriters award. The Grammy is lyric-based, dedicated to the songwriters of the specific song, and avoids recognition for the production of the song. However, Record of the Year is where the production of the song is evaluated instead of the lyrics. The award is dedicated to the song’s producers and how they chose to elevate the songwriting.
Two categories dedicated to different aspects of making music ensure the elements making up a song are credited for the work. Creative songwriting can be acknowledged while simultaneously crediting producers for enhancing lyrics through their production style.
Best Pop Vocal Album and Traditional Pop Album
Traditional Pop Vocal Album and Pop Vocal Album are both genre-specific awards. However, the titles are very similar even though the consideration requirements have slight differences.
The albums in the Pop Vocal category must contain 51% of vocal and original tracks.
The word “vocal” was added to the title when it was previously known as Best Pop Album to accommodate for the aspect that more than half the album should consist of vocal tracks.
The Best Pop Vocal Album nominations generally consist of modern pop music that incorporates new elements or mimics styles of the more recent years in pop.
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album narrows the nominations to musical pieces composed of “vocal styling” and “instrumental arrangement” through the definition of “traditional” in the “Great American Songbook.” The songbook is known as the “canon of the most important and influential American popular songs and jazz standards from the early 20th century.”
Bluegrass, country and Americana
When it comes to country music, the Grammys has various categories to cover multiple grounds of the American roots genres. The primary difference between these categories lies in the production and instruments.
Country tends to be a broader genre and incorporates electric instruments while bluegrass is mostly associated with string instruments and its Appalachian origin.
Americana is the recognition of experimentation amongst different aspects of subgenres. The San Diego Troubadour defines the genre as “contemporary music that incorporates elements of various American roots music styles, including country, roots-rock, folk, bluegrass, R&B, and blues.”
Progressive R&B and Traditional R&B
R&B is a genre that continues to grow in new forms each year, with mainstream R&B artists bringing new elements to the genre each year.
The Grammys introduced the Best Progressive R&B Album award in 2021 to include R&B albums that incorporate other aspects of different genres and considered the work to be a “subgenre.”
Traditional R&B singles out works that stay true to the genre's smooth vocals and brass instrument background. Both categories acknowledge the ever-changing genre while celebrating its traditional roots.
