The Grammy Awards, the most prestigious and significant awards in the music industry that recognise outstanding achievements in the music industry, will add three new categories to the 66th installment in 2024.
The new genres will include African music, Alternative jazz and Dance Pop, and will be categorised in the line-up of music’s biggest annual gig.
This means Amapiano also gets to shine.Â
“The Category includes but is not limited to the Afrobeat, Afro-fusion, Afro Pop, Afrobeats, Alte, Amapiano, Bongo Flava, Genge, Kizomba, Chimurenga, High Life, Fuji, Kwassa, Ndombolo, Mapouka, Ghanaian Drill, Afro-House, South African Hip-Hop, and Ethio Jazz genres.”
Additionally, the existing categories of Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical and Songwriter Of The Year, Non-Classical, will be moved to the General Field. This significant change will allow all Grammy voters to vote in these important, non-genre-specific categories.
These category additions and amendments were voted on and passed at the Recording Academy’s most recent semiannual Board of Trustees meeting held in May 2023.
Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr said: “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.
“By introducing these three new categories, we are able to acknowledge and appreciate a broader array of artists – and relocating the Producer Of the Year and Songwriter Of The Year categories to the general field ensures that all our voters can participate in recognising excellence in these fields,” Mason continued. “We are excited to honour and celebrate the creators and recordings in these categories, while also exposing a wider range of music to fans worldwide.”
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