Grammys Rule Change Makes Ella Langley & Megan Moroney Re-Eligible For Major Award
on Jun 03, 2026 • Updated Jun 16, 2026
For a while, two of country music’s fastest-rising stars seemed like they’d be blocked from receiving a certain Grammy Award in 2027.
The date for the 69th annual Grammy Awards has already been determined. The ceremony will be held in Los Angeles on February 7, 2027. Nominees will be announced a few months prior, on November 16.
Based on their recent success, country artists Ella Langley and Megan Moroney appear poised to secure several nominations each. It seems likely that they’ll earn nods (and wins) in most of the country-centric categories…and maybe some of the all-genre categories as well.
Many people already predicted that both Langley and Moroney would be nominated for the Grammys’ all-genre Best New Artist Award in 2027. The Grammys’ website describes the prestigious award as one that:
“…recognizes an artist whose eligibility-period release(s) achieved a breakthrough into the public consciousness and notably impacted the musical landscape. Eligible artists must have released at least five singles/tracks or one album.”
However, one rule threatened to block Ella Langley and Megan Moroney from being nominated for the award. And it’s a rule many fans don’t know about…
As Billboard explained in early June, the Grammys’ rules used to state that an artist couldn’t be entered into the Best New Artist category more than three times in their career. The exact rule used to read:
“An artist may not enter into this Category more than three times, including as a performing member of an established group.”
According to Billboard, Langley and Moroney had both been entered for consideration in the category for the past three years. Therefore, if the rule remained as originally stated, they would not be eligible for nomination for Best New Artist in 2027.
That has changed now!
As Variety reported on June 16, the rule has been updated to now allow an artist to be submitted to the Best New Artist category four times, instead of three. That makes both Langley and Moroney re-eligible for nomination!
Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. told Billboard:
“…we’ve heard from the music community that the way artists are being developed is changing, and the time it’s taking to find success or recognition can take longer than it once did. Artists are often releasing more music before they actually break through the consciousness of consumers or of our voters, and that evolution directly impacts this Category…The changes that have been made to this category will allow for a little bit more flexibility and reflect the reality that artist development looks different than it did even a few years ago.”
Grammy Awards Announce Big Changes to Best New Artist and Album Rules, and Add Five New Categories https://t.co/J0QYLO0CwG
— Variety (@Variety) June 16, 2026
The Timeline For The 2027 Grammy Awards – When Will We Know If Ella Langley & Megan Moroney Earned Any Nominations?
The Hollywood Reporter laid out the full voting timeline for the Grammys. For starters, only music released between August 31, 2025, and August 28, 2026, will qualify for nomination.
The media company registration period will last from June 25 through August 14. The online entry period will last from July 7 through August 21.
Then, the first official round of voting will be held from October 12 to October 22. The nominees will be revealed to the public after that (on November 16).
Finally, the last round of voting will occur from December 10 to January 7. That round will determine the winners in each category.
We’ll keep you in the loop over the coming months so you can be one of the first to know if Ella Langley, Megan Moroney, or any of your other favorite country stars earned a Grammy nomination!
