The Best Musical Theater Album category has increased the number of principal vocalists that are eligible for a Grammy nomination and subsequent award from four vocalists to six. The Recording Academy shared this news along with other rule changes regarding the eligibility of artists for the Grammy Awards exclusively with Broadway News on Aug. 12. These new changes apply to the 68th annual Grammys, which recognize achievements in recorded music released from Aug. 31, 2024 through Aug. 30, 2025, and will be presented in 2026.
According to the Academy, the Best Musical Theater Album will now recognize the album producer(s), lyricist(s) and composer(s) of greater than 50 percent of the album’s playing time and up to six principal vocalists “who have contributed significant performance(s)” or winners certificates to all vocalists on the recording of an ensemble-driven piece. (The winners certificate option was introduced about six years ago.) The category recognizes excellence in both the production and the performance of musical theater recordings.
Additionally, the Academy has made changes to the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category. As part of the change, albums that do not have a unifying narrative or underlying dramatic theme — as is required for the cast album Grammy — are now specifically asked to submit to the trad pop vocal album category. This includes recordings of cabaret performances, tribute albums, etc., though concert albums of full musicals — which have said narrative throughline — are still to be submitted to the Best Musical Theater Album category.
