There will be 100 categories at the 2027 Grammys, up from 78 following the great consolidation of 2012.
The Recording Academy is introducing five new categories for the 69th annual Grammy Awards, which will bring the total number of awards to 100. The Academy is also increasing from three to four the number of times a new artist may be entered in the best new artist process before being ruled ineligible. That change is good news for Ella Langley, Megan Moroney, Ken Carson and Ravyn Lenae, all of whom had been entered three times previously in the category and would have been disqualified under the old rules.
Geese had been entered twice in the category, while its lead singer, Cameron Winter, was entered last year following the release of his solo debut album. Those three total entries would likewise have made Geese ineligible under the old rules.
The most significant new category addition is Best Asian Pop Music Performance.This category recognizes artistic excellence in Asian pop music performances originating from or widely recognized within Asian markets, including K-pop, J-pop and C-pop, with meaningful use of one or more Asian languages.
From the 2001 to 2011 Grammy ceremonies, there were 100 or more categories (peaking in 2008 and 2009 with 110), but for the 2012 ceremony, the number of categories was slashed from 109 to 78. It has gradually crept back up to three digits.
The Academy also revealed a slew of far-more-defensible updates to the ceremony, including the addition of three new categories—Best Asian Pop Music Performance, Best Latin Song, Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance—the reintroduction of two others (Best R&B Collaboration or Duo/Group Performance and Best Traditional Folk Album), allowing online-only releases to submit for Best Album Notes and Best Historical Album, and lowering the percentage of new recordings on an album required for awards consideration from 75% to 66%.
