The Beyoncé Effect: Grammys Add Best Contemporary Country Album Category

The Grammy Awards are getting a facelift — and maybe even a little southern twang. The Recording Academy announced a new wave of category updates ahead of the 68th Annual Grammy Awards, set for February 1, 2026, in Los Angeles. And this time, they’re acknowledging the power of both genre evolution and visual artistry.

The most talked-about update? A brand-new category for Best Contemporary Country Album, which splits the longstanding Best Country Album field into two. The new distinction, which includes Best Traditional Country Album, signals that the Academy is paying attention to the shifting sound — and audience — of modern country.

It’s hard not to connect the timing to COWBOY CARTER, Beyoncé’s genre-bending, culture-claiming project that dominated the conversation in 2024. While the Academy hasn’t named names, the message is clear: Country is expanding, and the gate is cracking open.

Also new to the Grammy lineup is Best Album Cover, a long-overdue nod to the creatives who craft the visuals that help sell an album’s world. While there’s long been recognition for packaging and liner notes, this new category speaks to the era of aesthetic storytelling in which a single image can go viral before the music even drops. With album visuals being teased like movie trailers and dissected like fashion campaigns, this category feels right on time.

Other changes include expanded eligibility for Best New Artist and tweaks in the classical and packaging categories to reflect today’s industry landscape. Though nominations will drop on Nov. 7, the conversation has already started.

These updates show that the Grammys are still trying to keep pace with the culture. See the full 2026 Grammy rulebook here.