Grammys Change Best World Music Album Category Name as a 'Departure From the Connotations of Colonialism'

The category's new name follows a series of discussions this summer with "artists, ethnomusicologists, and linguists." Nominees will be announced this month.

November 3, 2020

Mere weeks ahead of the unveiling of the nominees for the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, the Recording Academy has announced a name change for the Best World Music Album category.

In a statement to Billboard, a rep for the Recording Academy explained that the decision was the result of a series of discussions over the summer involving "artists, ethnomusicologists, and linguists." Ultimately, the updated name—Best Global Music Album—is intended to mark a move away from "connotations of colonialism" and toward a more inclusive overall approach to the yearly awards show.

"The change symbolizes a departure from the connotations of colonialism, folk, and 'non-American' that the former term embodied while adapting to current listening trends and cultural evolution among the diverse communities it may represent," the Recording Academy rep said on Monday.

For the upcoming 2021 show, additional category-related changes were announced earlier this year. Among the additional previously announced updates are Best Progressive R&B Album replacing Best Urban Contemporary Album, Best Latin Pop Album being amended to Best Latin Pop or Urban Album, and Best Rap/Sung Performance getting a new name with Best Melodic Rap Performance.

A full list of nominations for the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards will be announced on Nov. 24. The final round of voting closes in early January, followed by the surely coronavirus-complicated ceremony on Jan. 31. Widely shared predictions include nods for the Weeknd's After Hours, Taylor Swift's Folklore, Roddy Ricch's Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial, Lady Gaga's Chromatica, Post Malone's Hollywood's Bleeding, and more.