It was noted that a proposal for the category had been submitted several times previously before being passed, and that it was created to honor a wider range of artists who fall outside of the commercial mainstream country music scene based in
Nashville, and highlighted a need to separate these artists from those making
Americana,
roots, and
folk music, who were all competing in the over-subscribed American Roots categories. The Academy specifically highlighted artists such as
Charley Crockett,
Sierra Ferrell,
Colter Wall, and
Noeline Hofmann, the former two having previously been nominated in Americana categories, and the general growth in popularity of country and its subgenres as reasons why the category was approved. The Academy also noted that the separation of the Best Country Album category brings the genre into line with other genres, such as R&B, Pop, and Blues, which all have distinct categories honoring Traditional and Contemporary styles. Regarding the establishment of this category, which was announced alongside
Best Album Cover, Recording Academy CEO
Harvey Mason Jr. stated: “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. They said, we think we need more space for our music to be celebrated and honored. It makes country parallel with what’s happening in other genres, but it is also creating space for where this genre is going. The issues have been, traditionally, a lot of people that weren’t sure whether [an album] was Americana or roots or folk or country were just jamming everything into one category. There are obviously nuances between the different genres. Those experts in those genres understand those nuances, and I’m quite certain now you’re going to see the right people going into Americana versus folk versus traditional country. [The change] gives us an opportunity to put things in more specific categories.” == Reception ==