LA – At the Grammys, further change is in the works. The best pop dance recording, the best African music performance, and the best alternative jazz album will all be new categories for the 2024 Grammy Awards ceremony, according to a Tuesday announcement by the Recording Academy.
Additionally, two already-existing categories—producer of the Year, non-classical, and songwriter of the Year, non-classical—which were only launched this year—have been transferred to the general field so that all Grammy voters can participate in choosing the winners.
Previously, the “Big Four” awards—best new artist, album, record, and Song of the Year—were the only ones included in the general categories. Voters for the Grammy Awards can cast their ballots in up to ten categories in each of three genre categories, with the instruction to only vote in their particular field of expertise. The modifications to those two categories reflect the changing nature of the music business, in which composers and producers are more valued for their contributions.
The new best African music performance category will highlight “regional melodic, harmonic and rhythmic musical traditions,” according to a Recording Academy press release, including genres like “Afrobeat, Afro-fusion, Afro Pop, Afrobeats, Alte, Amapiano, Bongo Flava, Genge, Kizomba, Chimurenga, High Life, Fuji, Kwassa, Ndombolo, Mapouka, Ghanaian Drill, Afro-House, South African Hip-Hop, and Ethio Jazz.”
Before the addition, the musicians competed in the field’s best worldwide music performance category, first offered in 2022.
Grammy, further change is in the works. The best pop dance recording, African music performance, and alternative jazz album will all be new categories for the 2024.
Before 2020, the genre was known as “world music.” In response to “connotations of colonialism,” the Grammys changed their name, as stated in a press statement.
The best pop dance recording category criteria include “up-tempo, danceable music that follows a pop arrangement” and tracks that “feature strong rhythmic beats and significant electronic-based instruments with an emphasis on the vocal performance, melody and hooks.” Dance remixes are not permitted.
Finally, the Category for the best alternative jazz album will highlight albums that combine genres, fusing jazz with other musical genres like “R&B, Hip-Hop, Classical, Contemporary Improvisation, Experimental, Pop, Rap, Electronic/Dance music, and/or Spoken Word.”
“The Recording Academy is pleased to announce these most recent modifications to our Awards process, Category. The Recording Academy’s CEO, Harvey Mason Jr., stated that these revisions “reflect our commitment to actively listen and respond to the feedback from our music community, accurately represent a diverse range of relevant musical genres, and stay aligned with the ever-evolving musical landscape.”
He claimed we could recognize and value various artists by adding these three additional categories. The creators and recordings in these Categories will be observed and celebrated, and a larger variety of music will be made available to music enthusiasts worldwide.
SOURCE – (AP)
