Grammys announces there will be eight nominees in top four categories instead of five

The general field categories: Record of the year, Album of the year, Song of the year and Best new artist will have eight nominees instead of the customary five nominees.

“This change will better reflect the large number of entries in these categories and allow voters greater flexibility when selecting this year’s best recordings,” the Recording Academy announced to its members on Tuesday.

This change comes after the award show was criticized for only having a few female nominees in the top categories this year.