| Grammy Award for Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Quality songwriting |
| Presented by | National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences |
| First awarded | 2023 |
| Currently held by | Theron Thomas (2024) |
| Website | grammy.com |
The Grammy Award for Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical is a new category in the annual Grammy Awards show, introduced in the 65th edition held in February, 2023. The award comes after the launch of a special Songwriters & Composers Wing in the Recording Academy, which "elevates, supports and advocates on behalf of all songwriters and composers within (...) the industry at large".[1]
According to the Wing's chair Evan Bogart, the new award is proof that composers and songwriters are now "able to make this dream of having an award that honors the compendium of an artist's yearly output and the impact it has each year on the musical landscape in the way the GRAMMYs have been honoring producers since 1975. I think the time to do that is now (...) People in the songwriting world have been calling for this award for more than a decade (...) We just came to the right moment in time to put the weight of the new Wing behind it and create it."[2]
Nominated songwriters can come from any musical field, except Classical, as those composers are recognized in the Best Contemporary Classical Composition category. As of 2024, the category is part of the General Field and is voted on by the entire Academy voting membership.[3]