Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album


The Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album is an award presented to recording artists at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".
The award has been presented every year since 1992, though it has had two name changes throughout its history. In 1992 the award was known as Best Traditional Pop Performance, from 1993 to 2000 the award was known as Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance, and since 2001 it has been awarded as Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. Apart from the first year it was presented, the award has been designated for "albums containing 51% or more playing time of vocal tracks", with "traditional" referring to the "composition, vocal styling, and the instrumental arrangement" of the body of music known as the Great American Songbook.
The 1992 award was presented to Natalie Cole for the spliced-together duet of her and her father, Nat King Cole, performing his original recording of "Unforgettable". This is the only instance in which the traditional pop award was awarded for a song, as opposed to an album. Prior to 2001, the Grammy was presented to the performing artists only; since then the award has been given to the performing artists, the engineers/mixers, as well as the producers, provided they worked on more than 51 percent of playing time on the album. Producers and engineers who worked on less than 50 percent of playing time of the album, as well as mastering engineers do not win an award, but can apply for a Winners Certificate. However, the lead performing artist remains the only one to receive an official nomination. Eligibility criteria for the category was expanded in 2025 to welcome more entries from the musical theater community, and it was mandated that albums must contain more than 75% of newly recorded and previously unreleased material.

Recipients

YearPerforming artistWorkNomineesRef.
1992
1993Perfectly Frank
1994Steppin' Out
1995MTV Unplugged: Tony Bennett
1996Duets II
1997Here's to the Ladies
1998Tony Bennett on Holiday
1999Live at Carnegie Hall: The [50th Anniversary Concert]
2000Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool
2001Both Sides Now
2002Songs I Heard
2003Playin' with My Friends: Bennett Sings the Blues
2004 and k.d. langA Wonderful World
2005Stardust: [The Great American Songbook, Volume III]
2006The Art of Romance
2007Duets: [An American Classic]
2008Call Me Irresponsible
2009Still Unforgettable
2010Michael Bublé Meets Madison Square Garden
2011
2012Tony BennettDuets II
2013Paul McCartneyKisses on the Bottom
2014Michael BubléTo Be Loved
2015Tony Bennett and Lady GagaCheek to Cheek
2016Tony Bennett and Bill CharlapThe Silver Lining: The Songs of Jerome Kern
2017Willie NelsonSummertime: [Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin]
2018Tony Bennett Celebrates 90
2019Willie NelsonMy Way
2020Elvis Costello & The ImpostersLook Now
2021James TaylorAmerican Standard
2022Tony Bennett and Lady GagaLove [for Sale (Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga album)|Love for Sale]
2023Michael BubléHigher
2024LaufeyBewitched
2025Norah JonesVisions
2026

  • Each year is linked to the article about the Grammy Awards held that year.
  • Award only went to a producer of the album, not the performing artist.

Artists with multiple wins

;14 wins
;5 wins
;2 wins

Artists with multiple nominations

;17 nominations
;14 nominations
;9 nominations
;7 nominations
;6 nominations
;5 nominations
;4 nominations
;3 nominations
;2 nominations