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Grammys will increase nominees in top four categories from five to EIGHT... following backlash over lack of female artists up for awards

Published: 06:55 EDT, 27 June 2018 | Updated: 07:13 EDT, 27 June 2018

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Fans were left exasperated at the lack of female artists up for top prizes at this year's Grammy Awards.

And the music awards have announced they will expand the number of nominees in the top four categories, beginning at next year's ceremony.

The 'General Field' categories - Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist – will now have eight nominees, increased from the standard five.

New dawn: The Grammys have announced they will expand the number of nominees in the top four categories, beginning at next year's ceremony (pictured Lady Gaga in 2010 with her first two Grammys)

Female force: This comes after fans were left exasperated at the lack of female artists up for top prizes at this year's Grammy Awards (pictured Beyonce with her two Grammys at the 2017 ceremony)

Announcing the landmark change to Recording Academy members on Tuesday, head of the Grammys Neil Portnow said: 'This change will better reflect the large number of entries in these categories and allow voters greater flexibility when selecting this year's best recordings'.

He added The Recording Academy was seeking to adapt to an 'ever-changing industry.'

'The expansion 'creates more opportunities for a wider range of recognition' and 'gives more flexibility to our voters when having to make the often challenging decisions' he said.

This comes as organizers attempt to counter a backlash over how few women are winning and push for diversity.

24k magic: The 'General Field' categories - Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist – will now have eight nominees, increased from the standard five (pictured Bruno Mars with his six awards)

This year's Grammys, held on March 28, featured very few female artists, with New Zealand singer Lorde the only nominee for Album of the Year and none earning a nod for Record of the Year

This came at a time that the growing #MeToo movement was raising concern about the gender biases and harassment holding back women.

The night's big winner was Bruno Mars, who picked up six gongs, including album, song and record of the year.

Asked after the January awards in New York why more women were not winning, Portnow said that female musicians needed to 'step up,' while also speaking of the need for more mentorship.

His remarks generated a tidal wave of criticism, with stars including Katy Perry and P!nk speaking out and a group of women music executives demanding that he quit.

Winner: Alessia Cara won the Best New Artist Award at the 2018 ceremony

Criticism has mounted that the Recording Academy's tastes are old-fashioned, and more in line with the older, mostly white male professionals who vote and are out of tune with contemporary culture.

Portnow announced on May 31 that he was stepping down next year, meaning that the expansion of Grammy nominations will likely be one of his final major decisions at the academy.

Hoping to bring more diversity, the Recording Academy made another key change in time for this year's awards by switching to online ballots, broadening its pool to itinerant musicians who are not waiting at their mailboxes.

Likely due to the reform, the 2018 Grammys for the first time saw hip-hop dominate the top categories.

Fans were outraged when the nominations for the Grammys were announced in November 2017.

Well done: Kendrick Lamar picked up the Best Rap Album award at this year's ceremony

A number of categories boasted just one female in the ranks, including Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Album, Best Country Album, Best Dance/Electronic Album among others.

The artists up for the awards of Best Rock Album, Best Alternative Music Album and Best Metal Performance were similarly all male.

But this isn't to say there are no female-dominated categories on the list, as Best Pop Solo Performance was a competition between four superstar women and eventual winner Ed Sheeran.

The Best New Artist award nominees were three women and two men.

Katy Perry and Demi Lovato, who both had albums eligible for nods, were shut out, however, leading to many Twitter users claiming they were cheated.

Notable female winners include Lady Gaga who won three Grammy Awards in 2011, two in 2010, and her latest gong in 2015 forBest Traditional Pop Vocal Album - Cheek to Cheek.

Beyonce has picked up a record 22 Grammys, the most recent two came in 2017 for Best Music Video for Formation and Best Urban Contemporary Album for Lemonade.

And Adele dominated last year's awards, picking up five awards for album, song and record of the year, as well as Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album.

Hello from the winners room: Adele dominated last year's awards, picking up five awards for album, song and record of the year, as well as Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album