It has been recently announced that there are going to be three new additions to new Grammy categories in next year’s awards show. The Recording Academy on Tuesday, 13th June, 2023, announced the additional categories of Best African Performance, Best Pop Dance Recording, and Best Alternative Jazz Album.
The Recording Academy is proud to announce these latest category changes to our awards process.
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 Harvey Mason Jr, CEO of the Recording Academy, in a press release.
“By introducing these three new categories, we are able to acknowledge and appreciate a broader array of artists.” said Harvey Mason Jr
He added that they are excited to honor and celebrate the creators and recordings in these categories, while also exposing a wider range of music to fans worldwide.
The changes were voted on and passed during a Recording Academy Board of Trustees meeting last month.
African Music Performance category emphasizes regional melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic traditions of Africa, as well as Afrobeats, Afro Pop, Ghanaian Drill, and Ethiopian Jazz, among other genres from the content.
The Pop Dance Recording category also looks mainly at up-tempo, danceable music that follows a pop arrangement and features strong rhythmic beats and significant electronic-based instruments with an emphasis on the vocal performance, melody, and hooks.
Dance remixes of previously released music are excluded.
Finally, the best alternative jazz album category will project alternative jazz albums that are genre-blending, hybridizing jazz and other musical styles, including R&B, Hip-Hop, Classical, Contemporary Improvisation, Experimental, Pop, Rap, Electronic/Dance music, and/or Spoken Word.
