The 2023 Grammy Awards ceremony is on the imminent horizon and the 65th Grammy Awards will look different than ever before. That’s because when the awards for Album Of The Year and Best New Artist are announced during the awards show on Tuesday, February 5, 2023, it’ll also mark the first time that a number of new categories will be awarded. So what exactly is being added?
What Are The Grammy Awards’ New Categories For 2023?
There are five new Grammy Award categories and one additional Special Merit Award and these are long overdue additions. Here’s the scoop:
Songwriter Of The Year, Non-Classical – Finally an award for songwriters! This will recognize the best non-performing and non-producing songwriters.
Best Alternative Music Performance – An expansion of the already limited Alternative Music categories. This category will recognize the best track or single in Alternative Music genres.
Best Americana Performance – Much like the aforementioned Alternative Music Performance category, this award will honor a single or track from an Americana solo artist, collaborating artists, established duo, or established group.
Best Score Soundtrack For Video Games And Other Interactive Media – It’s about time we recognized the incredible music that accompanies highly addicting video games (it’s not just for nerds)! All jokes aside, this award recognizes original score soundtrack albums that are created specifically for video games and other interactive media.
Best Spoken Word Poetry Album – Probably the most straightforward of all of the new categories, this award will finally shine the light on spoken word poetry.
Best Song For Social Change – Now here is the new Special Merit Award. This Award gets determined by a “Blue Ribbon Committee” (see: not voted upon by academy members at large.) The criteria says that the song, “must contain lyrical content that addresses a timely social issue and promotes understanding, peace-building and empathy.”
Tune in to the 65th Grammy Awards ceremony live on CBS networks on Tuesday, 2/5/2023 and also streaming and on demand via Paramount+.