Overview
- Page Six reports that Miranda Lambert, George Strait and Morgan Wallen plan to skip the 2026 ceremony, a claim not confirmed by their representatives.
- No country artists landed nominations in Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year or Best New Artist on this year's ballot.
- The Recording Academy introduced separate awards for Best Traditional Country Album and Best Contemporary Country Album for the first time this year.
- Billboard reports the split followed more than a decade of internal discussion and lobbying by country stakeholders, not a reaction to Beyoncé’s 2025 win.
- CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said results reflect the voting body and called genre omissions heartbreaking, while several country artists remain nominated and involved, including Lambert with multiple nods and Lainey Wilson as a presenter, as opinion writers question the split’s symbolism.