Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” Sparks Genre Debate Among Grammy Committee

The Recording Academy’s discussing which category Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” fits in.

Beyoncé took a massive creative leap with her latest album, Renaissance. However, it appears to have sparked significant dialogue among the Grammy committee. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Recording Academy is currently in a debate surrounding which category Renaissance would fit into.

The dance committee pushed back after Renaissance‘s submission into those categories. They felt it didn’t necessarily fit the criteria of the dance category. Bey’s team submitted Renaissance into the dance/electronic categories due to the evident house influence across the project.

A new debate emerged on whether it could be a better fit with the pop categories, specifically Best Pop Vocal Album. Although some might agree that Renaissance is better suited for those categories, the Recording Academy’s National Screening Committee decided that the album should compete within the dance categories.

Beyoncé’s latest album earned critical acclaim upon its release, along with its lead single, “Break My Soul.” Bey’s “Church Girl” also had a massive grip on summer ’22 and will likely land on plenty of year-end lists.

Aside from the Grammys, Beyoncé recently hinted at a global tour in support of her latest album. Over the weekend, she hinted at the tour at the Wearable Art Gala where she auctioned off “a UNIQUE experience.” The $20K package included first-class tickets, a three-night hotel stay, concert tickets, and backstage passes that would see Bey’s mom providing a guided tour. Needless to say, whoever ended up bidding $20K certainly gets their money’s worth.

Beyoncé’s album is still ringing off months after its release but she’s faced a bit of backlash in recent times. A designer who worked on the project said Bey’s stylist failed to pay him for the work on the album. Around the same time, Right Said Fred called Beyoncé “arrogant” for apparently sampling their song without their knowledge. Her team responded to both allegations, claiming that payments were made to each parties for their contributions to Renaissance.

We’ll keep you posted on more information on Bey’s Grammy submissions.

[via]