After Beyoncé Win, Fans Criticize New Country Category Change at the Grammys

The Recording Academy says the category has been in the works for years, but many say it’s badly timed after Beyoncé won Best Country Album.

When Beyoncé took home the Grammy Award for Best Country Album for Cowboy Carter, there was some backlash.

John Rich shared that Queen Bey’s win had to do with labels and publishers making deals with each other. Gavin Adcock made headlines over the summer by saying the album “ain’t country music.”

Then, in June, the Recording Academy announced a change that many believed was in response to the criticism over Beyoncé’s win. Instead of having one best album category, it will now be split into two: Contemporary and Traditional.

The response to the change has been met with some criticism. We’ll take a closer look below.

This Change Was in the Works Before Beyoncé

As we mentioned above, when the category split was announced, many fans saw it as a response to the backlash over Beyoncé winning Best Country Album over favorites Kacey Musgraves and Lainey Wilson.

“Instead of truly integrating country music and allowing its evolving, diverse future to compete on the main stage, the Grammys have chosen to create a ‘separate but equal’ structure,” someone

” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>commented. “It’s a cowardly response to Beyoncé’s well-earned and historic win.”

However, Shelly Maree, an Awards Manager at the Recording Academy who oversees the country music field, says the change had been in the works for three years.

“We’ve been hearing from artists for a long time,” Maree explained to MusicRow. “They didn’t feel fully reflected in the categories as they stood, neither in the existing country categories nor in the American Roots field. So this came from them: the creators, the voting members. It’s been in the works for a while.”

What Qualifies as “Traditional” Country?

The Recording Academy defines Traditional Country as music that adheres “to more traditional sound structures of the country genre,” including elements like steel guitar, fiddle, banjo, mandolin and live drums.

Maree says that what qualifies albums will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, rather than based on the artist.

“We don’t judge the artist. We screen the art,” Maree said. “An artist might fall into a traditional category one year and a contemporary one the next. It depends on the music they submit.”

She adds, “We want to be a mirror to the industry. Country music is so broad that it can’t be contained in just one sound or title. This is about opening the door wider.”