On February 1, 2026, the 68th Annual Grammy Awards will kick off with some of the biggest names in the music industry walking the red carpet. While hoping to add either their first or just another award to their growing collection, artists will notice a new category added to the ceremony. Given the surge of popularity surrounding country music over the last few years, it seemed that the Grammy Awards wanted to highlight not just new stars like Lainey Wilson and Jelly Roll, but also those who helped pave the way for them.
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Already having the Best Country Album award, the Grammy Awards will now add Best Traditional Country Album. And for Best Country Album, it will be renamed to the Best Contemporary Country Album. According to the Recording Academy CEO, Harvey Mason Jr., the shift came within country music itself. “The community of people that are making country music in all different subgenres came to us with a proposal and said we would like to have more variety in how our music is honored.”
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Which Genres Will The New Grammy Award Include?
As for the description of the new category, it reads, “This category recognizes excellence in albums of traditional country music, both vocal and instrumental. Traditional country includes recordings that adhere to the more traditional sound structures of the country genre, including rhythm and singing style, lyrical content, and traditional country instrumentation such as acoustic guitar, steel guitar, fiddle, banjo, mandolin, piano, electric guitar, and live drums.”
Given that country music included numerous subgenres, the Grammy Awards made sure to add Western, Outlaw Country, and Western Swing into the category.
Looking at some of the stars who could win the first Best Traditional Country Album Award, they include Charley Crockett, Trisha Yearwood, George Strait, and Willie Nelson. And when it came to Best Contemporary Country Album, names like Riley Green, Tyler Childers, Jelly Roll, and Wilson topped the list.
With voting for the Grammy Awards concluding on October 15th, the nominees for the 68th Grammy Awards will be revealed on November 7th. Don’t miss the Grammy Awards, airing on February 1, 2026.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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