Grammy top categories expand to eight nominees in diversity push

The Grammys will expand the number of nominees in main categories for music’s most prestigious awards as organisers try to counter a backlash over how few women and minorities are winning. In one of the biggest changes at the Grammys in years, the Recording Academy — which administers the prizes – said in a letter to members that next year’s awards will boost the field of hopefuls from five to eight for the top four categories. The prizes are Album of the Year; Record of the Year, which recognises overall song; Song of the Year, which honours songwriting; and Best New Artist. Other categories will remain at five nominees. The change echoes the 2009 decision of the Academy Awards to double the number of contenders for the Best Picture Oscar from five to a maximum of 10. Hoping to bring more diversity, the Recording Academy made another key change in time for this year’s awards by switching to online ballots, broadening its pool to itinerant musicians who are not waiting at their mailboxes. Probably as a result of this reform, the top categories at the Grammys this year for the first time were dominated by hip-hop. But the night’s big winner was ultimately Bruno Mars, rather than politically aware rappers Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z or Childish Gambino. And the latest Grammys were strikingly devoid of women, with Lorde the only nominee for Album of the Year and none earning a nod for Record of the Year, at a time that the growing #MeToo movement was raising concern about gender bias and harassment holding back women.