Is there an award more baffling than the Grammy’s Best New Artist? Even according to the Academy itself, it has the most “complicated set of rules” of any award given.
According to the Grammys, a “new artist” is defined as someone who has had “a breakthrough into the public consciousness and impacted the musical landscape during the year’s eligibility period.” So that means that you could have been releasing music for literal years; as long as you haven’t been nominated for a performance Grammy before, you’re good to go.
So, here’s a look back at the Best New Artists of the century — and what they’ve done since:
8.
2007: Carrie Underwood
12.
2011: Esperanza Spalding
15.
2014: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
18.
2017: Chance the Rapper
22.
2021: Megan Thee Stallion
So, who will win this year? It’s between Gracie Abrams, Fred Again, Ice Spice, Jelly Roll, Coco Jones, Noah Kahan, Victoria Monét, and The War and Treaty — so we’ll just have to see!