It was recently announced that the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences has created a new additional category for GRAMMY Awards – “Best Gospel Performance.” This is the first GRAMMY award category for the Gospel field among many. The decision was made after the conclusion of the Recording Academy's semiannual Board of Trustees meeting which gathered on the last week of May.

"We're keeping our focus squarely on ensuring the Awards process is pertinent within the current musical landscape, on maintaining a visible and participatory presence with artists' rights and consumer education, and on making sure we're able to service our members more effectively on a national and local level," said Academy President Neil Portnow. "It's clear that the Board's commitment to keeping the Recording Academy a relevant and responsive organization in our dynamic music community is stronger than ever."

Other than the decision upon the new Gospel field category, The Recording Academy added an entirely new GRAMMY field and three categories in existing fields. The Production, Surround Sound field was ratified, along with its first category, "Best Surround Sound Album." New categories also were added in existing fields - in the Dance field for "Best Electronic/Dance Album," and in the Folk field for "Best Hawaiian Music Album." Along with the addition of “Best Gospel Performance,” this brings the total number of GRAMMY categories for the 47th Annual GRAMMY Awards in February 2005 to 107.