Grammy Award for Best New Artist
{{Short description|Honor presented to recording artists}}
{{redirect|Best New Artist}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2019}}
{{Infobox award
| name = Grammy Award for Best New Artist
| awarded_for =
| image = Chappell Roan @ Hollywood Palladium 11 18 2022 (53886573161).jpg
| imagesize = 200px
| alt = A gold gramophone trophy with a plaque set on a table
| caption = Chappell Roan is the most recent recipient
| presenter = National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
| country = United States
| year = 1960
| holder = Chappell Roan (2025)
| website = {{URL|grammy.com}}
}}
The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since the 2nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1960 (except in 1967){{cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/awards/2nd-annual-grammy-awards|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210210925/https://www.grammy.com/awards/2nd-annual-grammy-awards|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 10, 2017|title=Just what is 'alternative'? - today > entertainment - Music - TODAY.com|work=TODAY.com|access-date=February 23, 2016}} "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.
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.{{cite news|url=http://blog.washingtonpost.com/clicktrack/2010/01/the_grammys_the_curse_of_the_b.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |title=The Grammys: The curse of the Best New Artist award? |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140125200724/http://blog.washingtonpost.com/clicktrack/2010/01/the_grammys_the_curse_of_the_b.html |archive-date=January 25, 2014 }}{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna6827316|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120926145258/http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/6827316/|url-status=live|archive-date=September 26, 2012|title=And the winner is ... what's your name again?|work=TODAY.com|date=January 14, 2005 |access-date=February 23, 2016}} 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."{{cite video | people=Taffy Danoff (Interviewee) | date=2002 | url=http://www.tv.com/one-hit-wonders/vh1s-100-greatest-one-hit-wonders-hour-4/episode/291771/summary.html?tag=ep_list;ep_title;6 | title=VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders | medium=TV-Series | location=North America | publisher=VH1 | access-date=March 31, 2008 | archive-date=June 28, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628231209/http://www.tv.com/one-hit-wonders/vh1s-100-greatest-one-hit-wonders-hour-4/episode/291771/summary.html?tag=ep_list;ep_title;6 | url-status=dead }}
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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-11-20-mn-4948-story.html|title=Milli Vanilli's Grammy Rescinded by Academy : Music: Organization revokes an award for the first time after the revelation that the duo never sang on the album.|date=1990-11-20|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-09}} The award was subsequently vacated.{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2D71F3DF936A35751C1A966958260|title=Winner of Grammy Lost By Milli Vanilli: No One|last=Holden|first=Stephen|date=5 December 1990|work=The New York Times|access-date=25 July 2008}}
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.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/awards/8548674/grammy-best-new-artist-winners-record-holders|title=Grammy Best New Artist Winners: 26 Record-Holders, From Youngest to Oldest to First Award Taken Back |first=Paul|last=Grein|date=January 22, 2020|access-date=March 25, 2020|magazine=Billboard}}{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qQ4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA67 |title=Billboard Magazine. March 8, 1997 |magazine=Billboard |date=March 8, 1997}}{{cite web|url=http://theboot.com/top-country-grammys-moments/ |title=Top 10 Country Grammy Awards Moments |author= Christina Vinson |date=March 9, 2021 |publisher=The Boot}} She was followed by Carrie Underwood in 2007{{cite web|url=http://www.axs.com/news/carrie-underwood-sets-new-record-after-first-six-albums-debut-at-numbe-88716 |title=Carrie Underwood sets new record after first six albums debut at number one |author=Shawn S. Lealos |work=AXS |publisher=AXS |date=November 3, 2015}} and Zac Brown Band in 2010.{{cite magazine|url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1957992_1957982_1957970,00.html |title=Grammy Awards 2010: The Zac Brown Band |author=Claire Suddath |magazine=Time |date=February 1, 2010}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://hitsdailydouble.com/news&id=304149 |title=Grammy Whisperer: Eight records that were set in this year's noms |author=Paul Grein |publisher=Hits magazine |date=December 7, 2016}} 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).{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CQcPAAAAIBAJ&pg=7099,3741679&dq=grammy+nominee+best-new-artist&hl=en|title=Jackson dominates Grammy list|date=February 24, 1984|access-date=April 24, 2010|first=Chuck|last=Gates|work=Deseret News|publisher=Deseret News Publishing Company}}{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
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.[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-feb-21-ca-10032-story.html Behind Grammy's Closed Door]{{cite magazine|last=Aswad|first=Jem|url=https://variety.com/2018/music/news/grammys-expand-major-category-nominations-best-album-song-record-new-artist-from-five-to-eight-1202858025/|title=Grammys Expand Major Category Nominations From Five to Eight|magazine=Variety |date=2018-06-28 |access-date=2018-12-09}} The rest of the members then vote on a winner from the final nominees.{{cite web|last=Wyman |first=Bill |url=http://www.slate.com/id/2284690/pagenum/all/#p2 |title=The Grammys: the secret committee that alters the membership's nominations |publisher=Slate.com |date=February 11, 2011 |access-date=May 23, 2014}} 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.{{cite web|last=Grein |first=Paul |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/grammys-recording-academy-trustees-vote-end-nominations-review-committees-9566082/ |title=Recording Academy Votes to End Grammy Nomination Review Committees |publisher=Billboard.com |date=2021-04-30 |access-date=2022-09-26}} Starting in 2022, the number of nominees in the category increased to 10.{{cite web|last=Grein |first=Paul |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/2022-grammys-10-nominees-top-categories-1235001803/ |title=Why Are the 2022 Grammys Jumping From 8 to 10 Nominees In Big Four Categories? |publisher=Billboard.com |date=2021-11-23 |access-date=2022-09-26}} 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.{{cite web|last1=Sisario |first1=Ben |last2=Coscarelli |first2=Joe |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/24/arts/music/grammy-nominations-taylor-swift-kanye-west.html |title=At Last Minute, Kanye West, Taylor Swift Added as Top Grammy Nominees |work=The New York Times |date=2021-11-24 |access-date=2023-11-10}} As of the 2024 ceremony, the number of nominees has been reduced to eight.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/lists/2024-grammy-awards-changes-harvey-mason-jr/|title=Here Are the 10 Biggest Changes to the Grammy Awards Process for 2024|magazine=Billboard|author=Paul Grein|date=June 16, 2023|access-date=June 16, 2023}}
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.{{cite web|url=http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/38126004/ns/today-entertainment/t/grammys-change-rules-best-new-artist/#.TpL7X5v222A|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120719145726/http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/38126004/ns/today-entertainment/t/grammys-change-rules-best-new-artist/%23.TpL7X5v222A|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 19, 2012|title=Grammys change rules for best new artist|quote=Eligibility change was caused by Lady Gaga's exclusion|date=July 7, 2010|access-date=October 10, 2010|publisher=MSN Music}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/jul/08/lady-gaga-change-grammy-rules|first=Sean|last=Michaels|title=Lady Gaga snub prompts change in Grammy rules|quote=Eligibility rules for best new artist category revised following exclusion of the dance-pop diva last year|date=July 8, 2010|work=The Guardian|access-date=October 10, 2011|location=London}} 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".{{Cite web |url=https://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/press-release/the-recording-academy-announces-rule-amendments-and-dates-for-the |title=Press Release, 16 June 2016 |access-date=June 17, 2016 |archive-date=February 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203184933/https://www.grammy.org/recording-academy/press-release/the-recording-academy-announces-rule-amendments-and-dates-for-the |url-status=dead }} 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.[https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/recording-academy-announces-61st-grammy-awards-update Recording Academy Announces 61st GRAMMY Awards Update] 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.[https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/recording-academy-announces-changes-63rd-annual-grammys-releases-rules-and-guidelines Grammy.com, 10 June 2020]
Recipients
Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year.
=1960s=
Image:Bobby Darin 1959.JPG went on to score 22 top 40 hits in America, including five top three hits and a number one song.]]
Image:Comedian Bob Newhart.jpg 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.]]
Image:Peter Nero Ethel Merman Bell Telephone Hour 1964.JPG (left) was the first jazz musician to win the award.]]
Image:The Swingle Singers (1964).jpg were the first group and Foreign act to win the Award and are still active today.]]
Image:The Fabs.JPG (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.]]
Image:BobbieGentry1969.jpeg became the first woman and first country artist to win the award in 1968.]]
Image:Grand Gala du Disque in RAI Amsterdam. Repetities. Feliciano, Bestanddeelnr 923-2992.jpg is the first Hispanic and only blind artist to win the award.]]
| class="wikitable sortable"
! scope="col" bgcolor="#efefef"|Year{{ref|1|[I]}} ! scope="col" bgcolor="#efefef" width=250px|Recipient ! scope="col" bgcolor="#efefef" width=300px class=unsortable|Nominees ! scope="col" bgcolor="#efefef" class=unsortable|Ref |
| scope="row" align="center"|1960
| {{sortname|Bobby|Darin}} | |
| scope="row" align="center"|1961
| {{sortname|Bob|Newhart}} | |
| scope="row" align="center"|1962
| {{sortname|Peter|Nero}} | |
| scope="row" align="center"|1963
| {{sortname|Robert|Goulet}} | |
| scope="row" align="center"|1964
| |
| scope="row" align="center"|1965
| |
| scope="row" align="center"|1966
| {{sortname|Tom|Jones|Tom Jones (singer)}} | |
| scope="row" align="center"|1967
| align="center" colspan="2"|No award |align="center"|{{Ref|2|[II]}} |
| scope="row" align="center"|1968
| {{sortname|Bobbie|Gentry}} | |
| scope="row" align="center"|1969
| {{sortname|José|Feliciano}} | | align="center"|{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZvYNAAAAIBAJ&pg=7306,477181&dq|title='Now' Singers To Get Grammys|date=February 11, 1969|access-date=April 24, 2010|work=St. Petersburg Times}}{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} |
=1970s=
Image:CSNY 8-1974 (3).jpg's music unerringly reflected the tastes and viewpoints of the counterculture in the late 1960s and early 1970s.]]
Image:Carpenters - Nixon - Office.png members Karen Carpenter and Richard Carpenter became the first duo to win the award in 1971.]]
Image:Natalie Cole at the 44th Emmy Awards cropped and airbrushed.jpg became the first African-American to win the award in 1976.]]
=1980s=
File:Christopher Cross in beaumont ca (2637703689).jpg 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.]]
Image:Cyndi Lauper at An Evening With Women event.jpg is one of the few winners close to achieving EGOT status.]]
=1990s=
Image:Mariah Carey13 Edwards Dec 1998.jpg's 1991 win is one of her few wins at the Grammys, despite over 30 nominations.[https://www.vulture.com/2018/01/the-greatest-grammys-snubs-of-all-time.html The Greatest Grammys Snubs of All Time]]]
File:SherylCrowHeartTruth.jpg won two other awards at the same ceremony, including Record of the Year.{{cite web|access-date=March 7, 2009 |url=http://www.grammy.com/grammy_awards/Winners/Results.aspx |title=Grammy Awards Winners |publisher=Grammy Awards |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100204235048/http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/Winners/Results.aspx |archive-date=February 4, 2010 }} Note: User must define search parameters as "Sheryl Crow" under "Artist".]]
File:LeAnn Rimes.jpg is the youngest artist to win the award.]]
File:LaurynHill.jpg was the first woman to win for a hip hop record.]]
=2000s=
=2010s=
=2020s=
| class="wikitable sortable"
! scope="col" bgcolor="#efefef"|Year{{ref|1|[I]}} ! scope="col" bgcolor="#efefef" width=80px|Image ! scope="col" bgcolor="#efefef" width=250px|Recipient ! scope="col" bgcolor="#efefef" width=300px class=unsortable|Nominees ! scope="col" bgcolor="#efefef" class=unsortable|Ref. |
| scope="row" align="center"|2020
| scope="row" align="center"| File:The Hi Hat - Billie Eilish 08 10 2017 -8 (36529007774).jpg | |
| scope="row" align="center"|2021
| scope="row" align="center"| file:Megan Thee Stallion (cropped).jpeg | |
| scope="row" align="center"|2022
| scope="row" align="center"| File:Olivia Rodrigo with Dr Fauci 1.png | |
| scope="row" align="center"|2023
| scope="row" align="center"| File:Samara Joy INNtöne 12.jpg | |
| scope="row" align="center"|2024
| scope="row" align="center"| File:Victoria Monet (33269922475) (cropped).jpg | |
| scope="row" align="center"|2025
|85px | |
=Notes=
{{note|1|[I]}} Each year is linked to the article about the Grammy Awards held that year.
{{note|2|[II]}} The Grammy Award for Best New Artist was not presented during the 9th Grammy Awards.{{cite web|url=http://www.grammy.com/nominees/search?year=1966|title=Past Winners Search|work=The GRAMMYs|access-date=February 23, 2016}}{{cite web|url=https://popgoesthecharts.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/grammy-flashback-the-year-without-a-best-new-artist/|title=GRAMMY Flashback: The Year Without A Best New Artist|work=POP! Goes The Charts|date=February 4, 2013 |access-date=February 23, 2016}}
{{note|3|[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. The category was declared vacant for 1990.
See also
References
General
{{Refbegin}}
- {{Cite web|url=http://www.rockonthenet.com/grammy/newartist.htm|title=Grammy Awards: New Artist|publisher=Rock on the Net|access-date=April 24, 2010}}
{{Refend}}
Specific
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{Official website|http://www.grammy.com/}}
{{Grammy Award for Best New Artist}}
{{Grammy Award years}}
{{Grammy Award categories}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grammy Award for Best New Artist}}