The Recording Academy has tweaked a few of its guidelines for the 2026 Grammy Awards, together with carving out a stand-alone class for finest album cowl — a day after Sabrina Carpenter sparked appreciable discourse unveiling what’s believed to be the duvet for her subsequent album.
The academy on Thursday introduced that the very best recording bundle and the very best boxed or particular restricted version bundle classes shall be mixed into the very best recording bundle class, with finest album cowl spun out by itself. The final Grammy for finest recording bundle went to “Brat,” the Charli xcx album whose distinctive cowl was instantly embraced by popular culture and meme creators.
“The Academy’s top priority is to represent the music people that we serve each year,” Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy mentioned in an announcement. “That entails listening carefully to our members to make sure our rules and guidelines reflect today’s music and allow us to accurately recognize as many deserving creators as possible.”
Carpenter revealed the title and launch date for her new album, “Man’s Best Friend,” on Wednesday. The picture reveals Carpenter, wearing a black gown and excessive heels, kneeling on the bottom in a dog-like pose whereas an unseen particular person pulls her by the hair. On social media, some followers mentioned the picture was demeaning whereas others argued it was satirical.
The album could be eligible for the brand new class if she releases “Man’s Best Friend” on Aug. 29, as promised. The Grammy eligibility interval closes the subsequent day.
Other Grammy adjustments embody the creation of a finest conventional nation album class, whereas the prevailing finest nation album class has been renamed finest up to date nation album. (Beyoncé gained finest nation album on the 2025 Grammy Awards for “Cowboy Carter.”)
The finest new artist class has additionally been expanded to incorporate acts who have been featured on earlier album of the yr nominees, as long as they fall beneath 20% of the album’s music.
The Grammys shall be held Feb. 1 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, with nominations set to be introduced on Nov. 7.
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