Yesterday, four months after 2012 Grammy Awards took place in Los Angeles, The Recording Academy revealed exciting new plans with regards to the ceremony’s future.
Plans, which will effect many an act’s chance of taking home an award due to the inclusion of brand new categories and nomination guidelines.
Details below…
The new categories are as follows:
Best Classic Compendium
Best Latin Jazz Album
Best Urban Contemporary Album
In the past the likes of Rihanna have come under fire for landing nominations in R&B categories despite her music being predominantly Pop.
Now, with the inclusion of the ‘Best Urban Contemporary Album’ category acts who draw on elements of R&B as well as in tandem with other genres will no longer have to compete with the likes of Ledisi whose music is predominately R&B.
Important, as it takes the various sub-genres that exist within ‘Urban music’ into account, giving the Minaj’s, Drake’s and Melanie Fiona’s of the world an even greater shot at picking up an award.
The official release reads:
Best Urban Contemporary Album is for albums containing 51percent playing time of newly recorded contemporary vocal tracks derivative of R&B. This category is intended for artists whose music includes the more contemporary elements of R&B and may incorporate production elements found in urban pop, urban europop, urban rock, and urban alternative.
The eligibility year for the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards is Oct. 1, 2011, to Sept. 30, 2012.
The submissions process for the 55th GRAMMY Awards begins on July 2, 2012, and will be followed by various Academy Screening Committee meetings later this year. Nominations for the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards will be announced as part of “The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live!! — Countdown To Music’s Biggest Night®,” a one-hour special that sets the stage for the annual GRAMMY Awards telecast with nominations announced in several categories and performances by past GRAMMY winners and/or nominees. This year’s nominations special will be broadcast live on CBS on Wed., Dec. 5, 2012.
So, taking this new category into consideration, which album released this year is most deserving of the award?