The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS), the body for awarding the coveted Grammy Awards, announced it will be eliminating over 30 categories. Men and women will now compete head-to-head, however some of the more exotic awards like best Native American album and best spoken-word children’s record have been eliminated, and the number of categories has been reduced by more than 30 in the biggest overhaul in the 53-year history of the Grammys.
While no musical genres will be excluded from Grammy contention, the changes will make the awards a lot more competitive.
In addition to eliminating the distinction between “male” and “female” awardees in some categories, several genre-based categories were eliminated. Gospel music will now go head to head with contemporary Christian Music. The Gospel Rap category was fused into Best Gospel Song.
Take a look at the categories from last year (on the left) as compared to what will be the categories next year (on the right)…
| GOSPEL FIELD | GOSPEL/CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC FIELD |
| Best Gospel Performance | Best Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music Performance |
| Best Gospel Song | Best Gospel Song |
| Best Rock Or Rap Gospel Album | Best Contemporary Christian Music Song |
| Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album | Best Gospel Album |
| Best Southern, Country Or Bluegrass Gospel Album | Best Contemporary Christian Music Album |
| Best Traditional Gospel Album | |
| Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album |
For a comparative list of how the rest of the categories changed from this year to the coming year, click here.
It’s going to be pretty tough for artists to win Grammy’s in the future. Is the stiff competition a good thing?
