The Recording Academy announced this morning that the award previously named Best Country Album will now be named Best Contemporary Country Album, and a new category, Best Traditional Country Album, will be added as well. The Academy will also add a new category for Best Album Cover, and the ceremony is now scheduled for Sunday, February 1, 2026.
Splitting a category like this is not unheard of; around the turn of the millennium, R&B established a “traditional R&B” field and what’s now called “progressive R&B.” Similarly, the “traditional pop” fields tend to go to artists like Tony Bennett or Barbra Streisand, while the “pop vocal” award is geared more toward an artist like Ariana Grande or Sabrina Carpenter.
However, the timing for this country tweak is notable, especially if your name is Beyoncé. While the star finally won her long-sought Album Of The Year award this year, she also won the Best Country Album award for Cowboy Carter. Those in the country industry did not uniformly celebrate the honor; Big & Rich’s John Rich opined online after the ceremony that Beyoncé beating Kelsea Ballerini for the award was a “total joke.” Even Beyoncé herself was wary of calling it a “country album” when she announced it, dubbing it a “Beyoncé album.” (Presumably, it was still she who submitted it for consideration in the country categories.) Regardless, country music is a tent that is expanding, with acts like Post Malone, Lana Del Rey, Gwen Stefani, and Chappell Roan turning their eyes further south and west in the past couple of years. Maybe there’s not room for everyone quite yet, but there is at least room for a few more nominees.
