Grammy Award for Best New Artist

"Best New Artist" redirects here. For other uses, see Best New Artist (disambiguation).

The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since the 2nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1960 (except in 1967)^[1] "for a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that artist." Since 2022, the award is presented by the previous year's winner during the televised ceremony.

Grammy Award for Best New Artist
Chappell Roan is the most recent recipient
Country	United States
Presented by	National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
First award	1960
Currently held by	Chappell Roan (2025)
Website	grammy.com

The Best New Artist award has a reputation for being given to artists whose music industry success ends up being short-lived; it is sometimes asserted, with varying degrees of sincerity, that the award itself brings a curse.^[2][3] This viewpoint was expressed by Taffy Danoff, a former member of Starland Vocal Band (known for "Afternoon Delight"), in an interview for VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders: "We got two of the five Grammys – one was Best New Artist. So that was basically the kiss of death and I feel sorry for everyone who's gotten it since."^[4]

The category is also notable for being the only category to date in which a Grammy Award has been revoked: this occurred in 1990, when Milli Vanilli originally won the award, but band members Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus later admitted that they did not contribute their own vocals on their album Girl You Know It's True.^[5] The award was subsequently vacated.^[6]

Further information

Of the 65 acts who have won the award since its inception, 34 are solo female artists, 19 are duos or groups, and 12 are solo male artists. Of the solo male artists, half were given the award in its first decade; since 1970, only six solo male artists have won the award, the most recent being Chance the Rapper in 2017. From 1997 to 2003, and again from 2018 to 2025, all the winners were solo female artists. Only five artists have won both Best New Artist and Album of the Year in the same year: Bob Newhart in 1961, Christopher Cross in 1981, Lauryn Hill in 1999, Norah Jones in 2003, and Billie Eilish in 2020. Of these, Cross, Jones, and Eilish had songs winning Record of the Year and Song of the Year for the same year, with Cross as the sole songwriter, Eilish as co-writer, and Jones lacking songwriting credit, which therefore made her miss out on completing the single year big four Grammy achievement, a feat that only Cross and Eilish attained; while Adele was the only artist to win all General field Grammys from separate occasions. Only two artists have lost Best New Artist yet won Album of the Year in the same year: Vaughn Meader in 1963 and Alanis Morissette in 1996.

Of all the winners, only three have been country artists. In 1997, LeAnn Rimes became the first country artist and (at age 14) the youngest artist to win the award.^[7][8][9] She was followed by Carrie Underwood in 2007^[9][10] and Zac Brown Band in 2010.^[11] Additionally, 2017 marked the first time that two country artists were nominated in this category in the same year, in which Maren Morris and Kelsea Ballerini were both nominated.^[12] In 2018, Alessia Cara became the first Canadian artist to ever win the award, and the only woman to win a major category that year. In 2020, Rosalía became the first all Spanish-language artist to be nominated. 2021 marked the first time that multiple female rappers were nominated in the same year, when Chika, Doja Cat and Megan Thee Stallion were all nominated, with the latter winning the award.

For the award's first several years of existence, comedians and comic acts were regularly nominated, and one, Bob Newhart, won the award. However, this ended abruptly after 1963, and since then, only one comedian has been nominated for the award: Robin Williams in 1980. (That same year, the semi-comic act The Blues Brothers was also nominated.)

David Crosby and Carl Palmer hold the distinction of being the only artists to be nominated twice for this award. Palmer was nominated both times as a member of a supergroup: Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Asia, while Crosby was nominated as a member of The Byrds and won as a member of the supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash.

1984 marked the first time that all of the nominees were from outside the United States (winner Culture Club, Eurythmics, Musical Youth, and Big Country were from the United Kingdom, and Men Without Hats were from Canada).^[13]

Eight artists who have been nominated for Best New Artist have later been awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award: The Beatles (1965, 2014), Chicago (1970, 2020), Cream (1969, 2006), Jefferson Airplane (1968, 2016), Antônio Carlos Jobim (1965, 2012), Led Zeppelin, (1970, 2005), Leontyne Price (1961, 1989), and John Prine (1972, 2020).

Process

From 1995 to 2021, members of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences nominated their choices for the best new artist. A list of the top twenty artists was given to the Nominations Review Committee, a specially selected group of anonymous members, who initially selected the top five artists to gain a nomination in the category in a special ballot; the number of nominated artists was increased to eight in 2018.^[14][15] The rest of the members then vote on a winner from the final nominees.^[16] In 2021, it was announced that the Nomination Review Committees would be disbanded, and the final nominees for best new artist would be decided by votes from members.^[17] Starting in 2022, the number of nominees in the category increased to 10.^[18] However, the decision to expand the number of nominees in this category was made 24 hours before the nominees were announced after an early version of the nominations list had already been circulated. This allowed Baby Keem and Arooj Aftab to be nominated as they were the artists that received the most votes besides the other eight nominees.^[19] As of the 2024 ceremony, the number of nominees has been reduced to eight.^[20]

Rules changes

Over the years, the eligibility rules for this category have changed several times. In 2010, Lady Gaga's exclusion from the Best New Artist category caused the Recording Academy to change eligibility requirements for the next ceremony. She was ineligible for the nomination because her hit "Just Dance" had been nominated in 2008. The new rule stated that an artist may be nominated as long as that artist has not previously released an entire album and has subsequently not won a Grammy.^[21][22] In June 2016, the Grammy organization amended the Best New Artist rules once again, to remove the album barrier "given current trends in how new music and developing artists are released and promoted".^[23] To be eligible in the category of Best New Artist, the artist, duo, or group:

• Must have released a minimum of five singles/tracks or one album (until 2020 there was a maximum of 30 singles/tracks or three albums, but this maximum limit was removed for the 2021 awards season)
• May not have entered into this category more than three times, including as a performing member of an established group.
• Must have achieved a breakthrough into the public consciousness and impacted the musical landscape during the eligibility period.

These new rules were put in effect with the 59th Annual Grammy Awards. The category was then expanded to include eight nominees in 2019.^[24] Starting in 2021, screening committees were charged with determining whether the artist had attained a breakthrough or prominence prior to the eligibility year. Such a determination would result in disqualification.^[25]

Recipients

Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year.

1960s

Inaugural winner Bobby Darin went on to score 22 top 40 hits in America, including five top three hits and a number one song.

Bob Newhart won the Grammy for his work as a comedian. The same year he also won the Album of the Year award. He is the only non-musician to win this award.

Peter Nero (left) was the first jazz musician to win the award.

The Swingle Singers were the first group and Foreign act to win the Award and are still active today.

The Beatles (Members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison, clockwise from top left), would go on to become the best selling band of all time.

Bobbie Gentry became the first woman and first country artist to win the award in 1968.

José Feliciano is the first Hispanic and only blind artist to win the award.

Year[I]	Recipient	Nominees	Ref
1960	Bobby Darin	Edd Byrnes Mark Murphy Johnny Restivo Mavis Rivers	[26]
1961	Bob Newhart	The Brothers Four Miriam Makeba Leontyne Price Joanie Sommers	[27]
1962	Peter Nero	Ann-Margret Dick Gregory The Lettermen Timi Yuro	[28]
1963	Robert Goulet	The Four Seasons Vaughn Meader The New Christy Minstrels Peter, Paul and Mary Allan Sherman	[29]
1964	The Swingle Singers	Vikki Carr John Gary The J's with Jamie Trini Lopez	[30]
1965	The Beatles	Petula Clark Astrud Gilberto Antonio Carlos Jobim Morgana King	[31]
1966	Tom Jones	The Byrds Herman's Hermits Horst Jankowski Marilyn Maye Sonny & Cher Glenn Yarbrough	[32]
1967	No award		[II]
1968	Bobbie Gentry	Lana Cantrell The 5th Dimension Harpers Bizarre Jefferson Airplane	[33]
1969	José Feliciano	Cream Gary Puckett & The Union Gap Jeannie C. Riley O. C. Smith	[34]

1970s

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's music unerringly reflected the tastes and viewpoints of the counterculture in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The Carpenters members Karen Carpenter and Richard Carpenter became the first duo to win the award in 1971.

Natalie Cole became the first African-American to win the award in 1976.

Year[I]	Recipient	Nominees	Ref.
1970	Crosby, Stills & Nash	Chicago Led Zeppelin Oliver The Neon Philharmonic	[35]
1971	The Carpenters	Elton John Melba Moore Anne Murray The Partridge Family	[36]
1972	Carly Simon	Chase Emerson, Lake & Palmer Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds Bill Withers	[37]
1973	America	Harry Chapin Eagles Loggins and Messina John Prine	[38]
1974	Bette Midler	Eumir Deodato Maureen McGovern Marie Osmond Barry White	[39]
1975	Marvin Hamlisch	Bad Company Johnny Bristol David Essex Graham Central Station Phoebe Snow	[40]
1976	Natalie Cole	Morris Albert Amazing Rhythm Aces Brecker Brothers KC and the Sunshine Band	[41]
1977	Starland Vocal Band	Boston The Brothers Johnson Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band Wild Cherry	[42]
1978	Debby Boone	Stephen Bishop Shaun Cassidy Foreigner Andy Gibb	[43]
1979	A Taste of Honey	The Cars Elvis Costello Chris Rea Toto	[44]

1980s

Christopher Cross is the first "Best New Artist" winner to win this award as well as Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year all in one night.

Cyndi Lauper is one of the few winners close to achieving EGOT status.

Year[I]	Recipient	Nominees	Ref.
1980	Rickie Lee Jones	The Blues Brothers Dire Straits The Knack Robin Williams	[45]
1981	Christopher Cross	Irene Cara Robbie Dupree Amy Holland The Pretenders	[46]
1982	Sheena Easton	Adam and the Ants The Go-Go's James Ingram Luther Vandross	[47]
1983	Men at Work	Asia Jennifer Holliday The Human League Stray Cats	[48]
1984	Culture Club	Big Country Eurythmics Men Without Hats Musical Youth	[13]
1985	Cyndi Lauper	Sheila E. Frankie Goes to Hollywood Corey Hart The Judds	[49]
1986	Sade	A-ha Freddie Jackson Katrina and the Waves Julian Lennon	[50]
1987	Bruce Hornsby & The Range	Glass Tiger Nu Shooz Simply Red Timbuk3	[51]
1988	Jody Watley	Breakfast Club Cutting Crew Terence Trent D'Arby Swing Out Sister	[52]
1989	Tracy Chapman	Rick Astley Toni Childs Take 6 Vanessa L. Williams	[53]

1990s

Mariah Carey's 1991 win is one of her few wins at the Grammys, despite over 30 nominations.^[54]

Sheryl Crow won two other awards at the same ceremony, including Record of the Year.^[55]

At the age of 14, LeAnn Rimes is the youngest artist to win the award.^[7]

Lauryn Hill was the first woman to win for a hip hop record.

Year[I]	Image	Recipient	Nominees	Ref.
1990		Milli Vanilli (Later Revoked)[5][III]	Neneh Cherry Indigo Girls Tone Lōc Soul II Soul	[56]
1991		Mariah Carey	The Black Crowes The Kentucky Headhunters Lisa Stansfield Wilson Phillips	[57]
1992		Marc Cohn	Boyz II Men C+C Music Factory Color Me Badd Seal	[58]
1993		Arrested Development	Billy Ray Cyrus Sophie B. Hawkins Kris Kross Jon Secada	[59]
1994		Toni Braxton	Belly Blind Melon Digable Planets SWV	[60]
1995		Sheryl Crow	Ace of Base Counting Crows Crash Test Dummies Green Day	[61]
1996		Hootie & the Blowfish	Brandy Alanis Morissette Joan Osborne Shania Twain	[62]
1997		LeAnn Rimes	Garbage Jewel No Doubt The Tony Rich Project	[63]
1998		Paula Cole	Fiona Apple Erykah Badu Hanson Puff Daddy	[64]
1999		Lauryn Hill	Backstreet Boys Andrea Bocelli Dixie Chicks Natalie Imbruglia	[65]

2000s

Year[I]	Image	Recipient	Nominees	Ref.
2000		Christina Aguilera	Macy Gray Kid Rock Britney Spears Susan Tedeschi	[66]
2001		Shelby Lynne	Brad Paisley Papa Roach Jill Scott Sisqó	[67]
2002		Alicia Keys	India Arie Nelly Furtado David Gray Linkin Park	[68]
2003		Norah Jones	Ashanti Michelle Branch Avril Lavigne John Mayer	[69]
2004		Evanescence	50 Cent Fountains of Wayne Heather Headley Sean Paul	[70]
2005		Maroon 5	Los Lonely Boys Joss Stone Kanye West Gretchen Wilson	[71]
2006		John Legend	Ciara Fall Out Boy Keane Sugarland	[72]
2007		Carrie Underwood	James Blunt Chris Brown Imogen Heap Corinne Bailey Rae	[73]
2008		Amy Winehouse	Feist Ledisi Paramore Taylor Swift	[74]
2009		Adele	Duffy Jonas Brothers Lady Antebellum Jazmine Sullivan	[75]

2010s

Year[I]	Image	Recipient	Nominees	Ref.
2010		Zac Brown Band	Keri Hilson MGMT Silversun Pickups The Ting Tings	[76]
2011		Esperanza Spalding	Justin Bieber Drake Florence and the Machine Mumford & Sons	[77]
2012		Bon Iver	The Band Perry J. Cole Nicki Minaj Skrillex	[78]
2013		Fun	Alabama Shakes Hunter Hayes The Lumineers Frank Ocean	[79]
2014		Macklemore & Ryan Lewis	James Blake Kendrick Lamar Kacey Musgraves Ed Sheeran	[79]
2015		Sam Smith	Iggy Azalea Bastille Brandy Clark Haim	[80]
2016		Meghan Trainor	Courtney Barnett James Bay Sam Hunt Tori Kelly	[79]
2017		Chance the Rapper	Kelsea Ballerini The Chainsmokers Maren Morris Anderson .Paak	[81]
2018		Alessia Cara	Khalid Lil Uzi Vert Julia Michaels SZA	[82]
2019		Dua Lipa	Chloe x Halle Luke Combs Greta Van Fleet H.E.R. Margo Price Bebe Rexha Jorja Smith	[83]

2020s

Year[I]	Image	Recipient	Nominees	Ref.
2020		Billie Eilish	Black Pumas Maggie Rogers Lil Nas X Lizzo Rosalía Tank and the Bangas Yola	[84]
2021		Megan Thee Stallion	Ingrid Andress Phoebe Bridgers Chika Noah Cyrus D Smoke Doja Cat Kaytranada	[85]
2022		Olivia Rodrigo	Arooj Aftab Jimmie Allen Baby Keem Finneas Glass Animals Japanese Breakfast The Kid Laroi Arlo Parks Saweetie	[86]
2023		Samara Joy	Anitta Omar Apollo Domi & JD Beck Latto Måneskin Muni Long Tobe Nwigwe Molly Tuttle Wet Leg	[87]
2024		Victoria Monét	Gracie Abrams Fred Again Ice Spice Jelly Roll Coco Jones Noah Kahan The War and Treaty	[88]
2025		Chappell Roan	Benson Boone Sabrina Carpenter Doechii Khruangbin Raye Shaboozey Teddy Swims	[89]

Notes

^{^[I]} Each year is linked to the article about the Grammy Awards held that year.
^{^[II]} The Grammy Award for Best New Artist was not presented during the 9th Grammy Awards.^{[90][91]
^[III]} Milli Vanilli were originally presented with the award on February 21, 1990, but the award was revoked on November 19, 1990, following an admission by band members Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus that they were not the actual singers on the album.^[5] The category was declared vacant for 1990.

See also

• List of Grammy Award categories
• Latin Grammy Award for Best New Artist