The Grammy Awards will introduce five new categories next year, including awards for Best Asian Pop Music Performance and Best Latin Song, in a move aimed at expanding global representation in music.
The Recording Academy announced the changes as part of efforts to make the awards more inclusive and reflective of evolving international music trends.
Grammy chief executive Harvey Mason Jr said the additions were inspired by feedback from artists, writers, producers and the wider music community who wanted broader recognition for emerging and global genres.
The new Best Latin Song category will recognise tracks performed predominantly in Spanish, while the Asian pop category will include music from genres such as K-pop, J-pop and C-pop.
The announcement follows major milestones at this year’s Grammys, where Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny became the first artist to win Album of the Year with a Spanish-language project.
Meanwhile, the song “Golden” from the film KPop Demon Hunters, performed by fictional group Huntr/x, became the first K-pop track to win a Grammy for Best Song for Visual Media.
The Recording Academy also expanded its voting panel last year by adding more Korean and Latino music professionals, a move widely viewed as paving the way for broader international representation.
Additional new Grammy categories include Best R&B Collaboration or Duo/Group Performance, Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance, and Best Traditional Folk Album.
The Academy also announced adjustments to eligibility rules for Best New Artist, increasing the number of times an artist can be submitted from three to four.
The updated categories and voting rules will officially take effect at next year’s Grammy Awards ceremony.
