# Grammy Award for Best New Artist

The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since the 2nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1960 (except in 1967) "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.
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. 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."
The category is also notable for being the only category as of 2024 in which a Grammy Award was revoked: this occurred in 1990, when Milli Vanilli originally won the award, but band members Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus later admitted that they did not contribute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. The award was subsequently vacated.

## 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. She was followed by Carrie Underwood in 2007 and Zac Brown Band in 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. 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).
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. The rest of the members then vote on a winner from the final nominees. 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. Starting in 2022, the number of nominees in the category increased to 10. 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. As of the 2024 ceremony, the number of nominees has been reduced to eight.

## 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. 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". 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. 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.

## Recipients

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

### 1960s

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

### 1970s

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

### 1980s

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

### 1990s

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

### 2000s

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

### 2010s

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

### 2020s

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