Just a few months after Beyoncé made history with her country record, the Grammys just made a major change to their country category. Coincidence...? The internet certainly doesn't think so.
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To be clear, this sudden change is the only new category added by the Recording Academy for the 68th Annual Grammy Awards in 2026. The current country category (previously Best Country Album) has been renamed as "Best Contemporary Country Album," while the new category being added is "Best Traditional Country Album," per reports.
When speaking to Billboard, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr., said, "The community of people that are making country music in all different subgenres came to us with a proposal and said we would like to have more variety in how our music is honored."
He added that country music makers said the Academy needs "more space" for country music to be "celebrated and honored.” While he also made clear that this proposal had been submitted numerous times years before, it was only accepted this year, the year when a Black woman made history, becoming the first Black woman to win Best Country Album.
This fact is certainly not lost on the Beyhive or music fans at large.
One user wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, "Best Traditional Country Album. How subtle." Another shared similar sentiments, writing, "Best Traditional Country Album…they couldn't wait a couple more years so it wasn't so obvious what they're responding too?"
As we reported, Beyoncé's win was a major moment for not just her but the culture, as the "Renaissance" era for Bey stands as a meditation on reclaiming what is rightfully ours. While "Renaissance" reclaimed dance and house music, "Cowboy Carter" reminded us that the roots of country music are Black as well, and are just as much ours as anyone else's.
Naturally, this notion received plenty of backlash from Nashville and the white country establishment, but that did not stop Bey from doing her thing and making history on the Grammys stage by taking home multiples Grammys, including the award of the night: Album of the Year.
One fan wrote, "Beyoncé is so powerful and she pissed off the yts so much that they added 2 new country Grammy categories called “Best Contemporary Country Album and Best Traditional Country Album.” That’s a bad b-tch."
Another shared in a post, "They can change the category all they want but Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter will always have a Grammy Award for Best Country Album."
The double standard is certainly a glaring one, as other fans have pointed out. "Trying to gatekeep a Black genre from Black artists is insane.
"Her album was just as country as anything 'traditionally country'," one user wrote. "Y’all wasn’t doing this when AUSTRALIAN “country” artist Keith Urban was winning grammys."
So, the question stands. Is it simply a coincidence that the Grammys are expanding their country categories? Or does it have everything to do with us finally claiming our space in this predominately white genre?
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