Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Performance

The Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Performance is an award presented by the Recording Academy to honor quality alternative music performances in any given year. The award was presented for the first time on February 5, 2023, at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards. It is a companion category to the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album and the first new category in the alternative genre field since the field's creation in 1991.

Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Performance
"Flea" by St. Vincent is the most recent recipient
Awarded for	Quality vocal or instrumental alternative recordings (tracks or singles only)
Presented by	National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
First award	2023
Currently held by	St. Vincent — "Flea" (2025)
Website	grammy.com

The Academy stated that the award goes to "a track or single performance that recognizes the best recordings in an alternative performance by a solo artist, collaborating artists, established duo, or established group."^[1]

Background

In 1991, and from 1994 to 1999, the award for Best Alternative Music Album was known as Best Alternative Music Performance.^[2] In this time, it was won by Sinéad O'Connor, U2, Green Day, Nirvana, Beck, Radiohead and Beastie Boys.

The category was one of five new categories announced in June 2022 alongside Best Americana Performance, Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media, Best Spoken Word Poetry Album and Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical.

Winners and nominees

Inaugural winners Wet Leg

Year[I]	Performing artist(s)	Work	Nominees	Ref.
2023	Wet Leg	"Chaise Longue"	Arctic Monkeys – "There'd Better Be a Mirrorball" Big Thief – "Certainty" Florence and the Machine – "King" Yeah Yeah Yeahs featuring Perfume Genius – "Spitting Off the Edge of the World"	[3]
2024	Paramore	"This Is Why"	Alvvays – "Belinda Says" Arctic Monkeys – "Body Paint" Boygenius – "Cool About It" Lana Del Rey – "A&W"	[4]
2025	St. Vincent	"Flea"	Cage the Elephant – "Neon Pill" Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – "Song of the Lake" Fontaines D.C. – "Starburster" Kim Gordon – "Bye Bye"	[5]

^{^[I]} Each year is linked to the article about the Grammy Awards held that year.