how do they decide who wins a grammy

They decide who wins a Grammy through a multi‑step voting process run by the Recording Academy, using industry professionals (not fans) who vote in categories they’re qualified in.

Who Actually Votes?

• Only voting members of the Recording Academy (artists, producers, engineers, songwriters, etc.) choose the nominees and winners.

• These people must have professional credits on released recordings to qualify as voting members.

• Fans do not vote for Grammys, unlike some other music awards that use public or social‑media voting.

Step 1: Submissions

• Every year, labels, artists, and other eligible industry folks submit songs and albums released in a specific eligibility window (roughly one year before the show).

• The Recording Academy checks that each submission meets the rules (release date, format, category, etc.) and places it into the appropriate categories.

This is why you see “For Your Consideration” posts and ads everywhere during Grammy season—people are trying to get industry voters to notice their eligible releases.

Step 2: First Round – Picking Nominees

• Once submissions are sorted, Academy voting members get ballots and vote for what they think should be nominated.

• They can vote in:
  • All four “Big” general categories: Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best New Artist.

* A limited number of genre/field categories where they have expertise (up to a set cap, e.g., 9–15 fields depending on the rules that year).

• The recordings with the most votes in each category become the official nominees.

In some specialized or “craft” categories, review committees look at the top vote‑getters and finalize the nominee list to make sure entries fit the category properly.

Step 3: Committees and Controversy

• In several major and specialty categories, nomination review committees have historically been able to shape the final slate of nominees from the top vote‑getters (for example, reviewing roughly the top 15–20 in major categories).

• These committees are made up of selected Academy members who listen, discuss, and then vote again to settle on the final list of nominees.

• Critics argue this adds opacity and potential bias, since the process and membership of these committees aren’t fully transparent.

Forum discussions and think‑pieces often describe the process as “confusing,” “political,” or “narrative‑driven,” especially for big prizes like Album of the Year.

Step 4: Final Round – Choosing the Winners

• After nominations are public, a second ballot goes to the same pool of voting members.

• Voters now choose winners only among the listed nominees in each category.

• They again stick mostly to their own areas of expertise plus the big general categories.

• An independent accounting firm (like Deloitte) counts the votes, and the recording with the most votes in each category wins.

• Ties are possible; if there’s a tie, both nominees receive Grammys as co‑winners.

A pianist and Academy voter described it very simply: nominations come from the first ballot, then a second ballot among nominees decides the winners by straight majority vote.

What Are the Actual “Criteria”?

There isn’t a strict numerical scoring formula like “sales + streams + reviews.” Instead, voters are told to consider overall excellence in their field.

Common factors voters say they look at:

• Artistic quality and songwriting craft.
• Vocal and instrumental performance.
• Production and engineering.
• Originality and impact on the music landscape.

Sales, chart success, and virality can influence perception, but they are not official deciding metrics the way they are for, say, Billboard awards, which are heavily numbers‑based.

Why People Say the Process Feels “Rigged”

• The role of secretive committees has sparked accusations of favoritism or “correcting” what the wider voters chose, especially in high‑profile genres and big categories.

• Some observers feel that legacy artists or “safe” choices get favored over boundary‑pushing or fan‑favorite acts.

• Even long‑time watchers describe the Grammys as one of the more opaque and political awards shows, despite the formal voting structure.

At the same time, many voters and Academy insiders insist it’s essentially a big jury of peers doing their best to pick what they consider the year’s strongest work.

Mini Example Story

Imagine an artist drops an album in spring 2025 that gets lots of buzz:

1. Their label submits the album and its singles to several categories during the 2026 Grammy eligibility window.

2. In the first ballot, thousands of Academy members who work in similar genres vote, and the album ends up among the top vote‑getters for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album.

3. A nomination review committee in a major category listens to the finalists and keeps the album on the final nominee list.

4. In the final round, voters weigh it against the other nominees they’ve received and cast their ballots; the album gets the most votes in its category and wins a Grammy on the night of the show.

From the outside it looks like “the Grammys decided,” but underneath it’s a whole year of submissions, vetting, two voting rounds, and sometimes committee review behind that one trophy.

TL;DR: They decide who wins a Grammy through submissions, a first round of voting to pick nominees, committee review in some categories, and a final round of voting by Recording Academy members, with the most votes taking the award.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.