{"id":2074506,"date":"2025-10-07T10:02:50","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T10:02:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2074506"},"modified":"2025-10-07T10:02:50","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T10:02:50","slug":"grammy-awards-introduce-best-album-cover-category","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/grammy-awards-introduce-best-album-cover-category\/","title":{"rendered":"Grammy Awards Introduce Best Album Cover Category"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\tWhen Sabrina Carpenter<\/a> unveiled the cover this past summer for her latest album, Man\u2019s Best Friend<\/em>, she got a lot of attention \u2014 and not in a good way. Depicting the pop star on her knees in a dog-like pose while her hair is presumably being pulled by a male, the cover caused a stir on social media for what many felt looked like objectification. In response, Carpenter released an alternative cover but defended the image as satire.<\/p>\n

\n\tIronically, the controversy arose just as the Recording Academy decided to put the spotlight on album cover art again. On June 12, just a day after Carpenter\u2019s cover was revealed, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. announced that the 2026 Grammys<\/a> would give an award for best album cover as a stand-alone category, something it hasn\u2019t done since 1973. The category existed when the first Grammys took place in 1959 (Frank Sinatra won) but was renamed best album package in 1974 and then best recording package in 1994, both efforts to encompass a release\u2019s full and vibrant visual presentation.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHaving things that solely exist now in the digital space as just a singular image, I think it\u2019s really cool to celebrate and recognize album covers,\u201d says Frank Maddocks, vp creative at Warner Records. \u201cNow that these images don\u2019t actually end up being physical pieces when many people see them, it only makes sense that there would be something to acknowledge this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIndeed, streaming services and social media dominate music discovery these days, so many fans only see a thumbnail when they\u2019re listening or shopping for music. A separate best recording package category will now include tangible boxed or special limited-edition releases, leaving covers to be judged on their own.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cA lot of my favorite musicians growing up built an entire visual world around their albums,\u201d Perfume Genius, aka Michael Alden Hadreas, says about album cover art. \u201cIt\u2019s a way to get closer; it made you feel like you knew where the songs lived, and you could go there too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tPerfume Genius\u2019 latest, Glory<\/em>, is a strong contender for the new category, depicting an artful yet curious scene: Hadreas laying contorted in what looks like a home studio as a mysterious figure stands outside a window. It makes you ponder what exactly is going on in the moment captured.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI wanted [it] to have a balance between high and low, deep meaning and absurdity,\u201d he says of the image. \u201cThe record is an attempt to externalize complicated, contradictory feelings I have trouble articulating in my everyday life. The art feels like an extension of that \u2014 a way to try to squeeze out as much as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMaybe you can\u2019t judge a book by its cover, but when it comes to great albums, there\u2019s usually a deeper connection between what\u2019s on the outside and the music on the inside. Lady Gaga\u2019s Mayhem<\/em>, for example, melds her image with the foreboding aesthetic of her tour and gothy moods of the songs within. It\u2019s surely another contender for a nod this year.<\/p>\n

\n\tOn the other hand, sometimes album art is so powerful and eye-catching, it doesn\u2019t necessarily need to reference the creative expression it envelops, or even the artist. Like other Grammy categories, what\u2019s \u201cbest\u201d is subjective, but no one would argue that exemplary album cover art engages fans and beckons new ones.<\/p>\n

\n\tCharli XCX<\/a>\u2018s Brat<\/em>, the winner of best recording package last year, went viral for its distinctive bright green hue and simplistic typeface, which put all the attention on the title and turned it into a cultural moment that everyone wanted to identify with.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tCharli XCX\u2019s breakout Brat<\/em>, her sixth studio album, helped kick-start Kamala Harris\u2019 presidential run after the singer posted that \u201cKamala IS brat.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Studio (2)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\t\u201cBrat<\/em> was super impactful,\u201d says Maddocks, who worked on the two album covers his label hopes will be nominated this year \u2014 Linkin Park\u2019s From Zero<\/em> (a photo of layers of paint and glass) and Deftones\u2019 Private Music.<\/em> \u201cIt showed that you can do something simple but with a thought process that, coupled with a great album, really works.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOf his striking work on Linkin Park\u2019s and Deftones\u2019 releases this year, which are art-driven (and not AI, by the way), Maddocks says: \u201cIt\u2019s really about pushing against what we\u2019ve already done and also pushing against what\u2019s popular or trending. We\u2019re always trying to do something left of center and kind of unexpected \u2026 to create images that are striking and memorable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t***<\/p>\n

\n\t\tTHR Picks the Best Album Covers That Would Have \u2014 and Should Have \u2014 Been Winners\t<\/h2>\n
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\t\t\t\t\tMick Jagger (left) and Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones epitomized the vibe of the band\u2019s 1971 album, Sticky Fingers, and its cover art<\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tChris Walter\/WireImage<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\t\tDuran Duran, Rio<\/em> (1982)\t<\/h2>\n

\n\tPatrick Nagel\u2019s clean, modern, color-drenched portraiture brought an air of mystery and exotic allure to the U.K. new wave sensation\u2019s debut and made the artist\u2019s stark yet sensual female illustrations synonymous with the decadence of the 1980s.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tDuran Duran, Rio<\/em>, 1982
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Studio<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\t\tMichael Jackson, Dangerous<\/em> (1991)\t<\/h2>\n

\n\tMark Ryden\u2019s surrealist circus-themed album cover is the King of Pop\u2019s most artful and beautiful ever, chock full of symbolic Easter eggs, evocative elements and personal themes that bring dimension to his personal experience and the music it inspired.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tMichael Jackson, Dangerous<\/em>, 1991<\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Studio<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\t\tPink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon<\/em> (1973)\t<\/h2>\n

\n\tMinimalistic yet vibrant, the now-iconic prismatic spectrum image and contrasting black background designed by Storm Thorgerson of Hipgnosis is eye-catching and eerie. It also evokes the complex and cosmic themes of Floyd\u2019s music as well as its most ominous moods and subjects.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tPink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon<\/em>, 1973<\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Studio<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\t\tThe Rolling Stones, Sticky Fingers<\/em> (1971)\t<\/h2>\n

\n\tCraig Braun and Andy Warhol\u2019s provocative crotch shot with working zipper design and underwear inner sleeve was nominated for best \u201cpackage\u201d in 1972, but it was probably too risqu\u00e9 to win back then. The main image alone has inspired many below-the-belt covers to come \u2014 though none were ever as cool. Today, it\u2019d be no contest.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tThe Rolling Stones, Sticky Fingers<\/em>, 1971<\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Studio<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\t***<\/p>\n

\n\tRead more from\u00a0THR\u2019<\/a>s\u00a0Music Issue<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tThis story appeared in the Oct. 1 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.hollywoodreporter.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Sabrina Carpenter unveiled the cover this past summer for her latest album, Man\u2019s Best Friend, she got a lot of attention \u2014 and not in a good way. Depicting the pop star on her knees in a dog-like pose while her hair is presumably being pulled by a male, the cover caused a stir […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2074507,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[28272,350406,384851,384737,27664],"class_list":["post-2074506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","tag-charli-xcx","tag-grammys","tag-grammys-2026","tag-music-issue","tag-sabrina-carpenter"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Grammy-Awards-Introduce-Best-Album-Cover-Category.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2074506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2074506"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2074506\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2074508,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2074506\/revisions\/2074508"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2074507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2074506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2074506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2074506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}