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Built by fans, for fans
Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. says it’s always “heartbreaking” when deserving artists go under-recognized at the Grammy Awards, but ultimately, the show will favor different genres based on what music voters choose in a given year.
He also said he hopes that “fans don’t see the lack of representation of country music in 2026 as a political statement”.
Well, with all due respect to Mr. Mason Jr, it is “political” and we at Heartland Journal created the Heartland Awards™ because you made it so. [ [link removed] ]
Country was completely absent from the four major all-genre categories this year. That’s a break from previous years, which typically features at least one country or country-adjacent nominee in the Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year or Best New Artist categories.
We don’t discriminate. [ [link removed] ] We let you choose the artist you love and want to show your appreciation for, as voted on by you, the Heartland Journal subscriber.
Mr. Mason Jr. told Variety that the country’s downturn in all-genre category representation could be “red meat for the right wing that country, which is so popular, was closed out of a lot of the bigger categories.”
Thanks for coming clean. We like “red meat” too. [ [link removed] ]
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Winners announced in April [ [link removed] ]
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Steve Abramowicz
Editor-in-Chief
Heartland Journal
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Franklin, TN 37064 ©2026, All Rights Reserved

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