Grammy Award for Best New Artist facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Grammy Award for Best New Artist
Chappell Roan is the most recent recipient
Presented by	National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
Country	United States
First awarded	1960
Currently held by	Chappell Roan (2025)

The Grammy Award for Best New Artist is a special award given to a new music artist. It has been given out since 1960, except for one year (1967). This award celebrates an artist who released their first major recording during the past year. This recording must have made them well-known to the public. Since 2022, the winner from the year before presents the award during the TV show.

Some people joke that this award brings bad luck to artists. They say that many winners don't stay famous for long. Taffy Danoff, from the band Starland Vocal Band, once said that winning was "the kiss of death." She felt sorry for other artists who won it later.

This award is also famous because it's the only Grammy that has ever been taken back. This happened in 1990 with the group Milli Vanilli. The band members later admitted they didn't sing on their album. Because of this, their award was taken away.

More About the Award Winners

Since the award started, 65 different artists or groups have won it. More than half of the winners (34) have been solo female artists. Groups or duos have won 19 times, and solo male artists have won 12 times. In the first ten years, many solo male artists won. But since 1970, only six solo male artists have won. The most recent male winner was 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. These winners are Bob Newhart (1961), Christopher Cross (1981), Lauryn Hill (1999), Norah Jones (2003), and Billie Eilish (2020). Christopher Cross and Billie Eilish also won Record of the Year and Song of the Year in the same year. This is a very rare achievement.

Only three country music artists have won this award. In 1997, LeAnn Rimes became the first country artist to win. She was also the youngest winner ever at just 14 years old. Later, Carrie Underwood won in 2007, and Zac Brown Band won in 2010. In 2018, Alessia Cara became the first Canadian artist to win. In 2020, Rosalía was the first artist who sings only in Spanish to be nominated. In 2021, Megan Thee Stallion won, and it was the first time multiple female rappers were nominated.

In the early years of the award, comedians were often nominated. One comedian, Bob Newhart, even won. But this stopped after 1963. Since then, only one comedian, Robin Williams, has been nominated (in 1980).

David Crosby and Carl Palmer are the only artists to be nominated for this award twice. Palmer was nominated as part of two different supergroups. Crosby was nominated with The Byrds and won with Crosby, Stills & Nash.

In 1984, all the nominees were from outside the United States for the first time. The winner, Culture Club, was from the United Kingdom.

Eight artists who were nominated for Best New Artist later received a special Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. This award celebrates their long and important careers in music.

How Winners Are Chosen

From 1995 to 2021, members of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences suggested artists for the award. A special committee then chose the top artists to be nominated. In 2018, the number of nominees increased from five to eight. All members then voted for the final winner.

In 2021, the special committees were removed. Now, all members vote directly for the final nominees. Starting in 2022, the number of nominees increased to 10. However, for the 2024 ceremony, the number of nominees was changed back to eight.

Award Rules Have Changed

The rules for who can be nominated for Best New Artist have changed over time. For example, in 2010, Lady Gaga could not be nominated. This was because her hit song "Just Dance" had been nominated for a Grammy in 2008.

Because of this, the Grammy organization changed the rules. A new rule said that an artist could be nominated as long as they had not released a full album before. Also, they could not have won a Grammy already.

In 2016, the rules changed again. The album limit was removed. This was because new music is released differently now. To be eligible for Best New Artist, an artist, duo, or group must:

• Have released at least five songs or one album. (Before 2021, there was a maximum limit, but that was removed.)
• Not have been nominated in this category more than three times, even if they were part of a group.
• Have become well-known and made an impact on music during the past year.

These new rules started with the 59th Annual Grammy Awards. The category was then expanded to include eight nominees in 2019. Since 2021, special groups check if an artist was already famous before the award year. If they were, they might not be allowed to be nominated.

Recipients

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

Inaugural winner Bobby Darin won in 1960.

Comedian Bob Newhart won in 1961. The same year he also won the Album of the Year award.

The Swingle Singers were the first group and Foreign act to win this award in 1964.

The Beatles (Members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison, clockwise from top left), won in 1965.

Tom Jones won in 1966.

José Feliciano is the first Hispanic and only blind artist to win the award in 1969.

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young won in 1970.

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

Carly Simon won in 1972.

Bette Midler won in 1974.

Composer Marvin Hamlisch won in 1975.

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

Christopher Cross won in 1981.

Cyndi Lauper won in 1985.

Tracy Chapman won in 1989

Mariah Carey won in 1991.

At the age of 14, LeAnn Rimes won in 1997, becoming the youngest artist to win this award.

Lauryn Hill was the first woman to win for a hip hop record in 1999.

Toni Braxton won in 1994.

Sheryl Crow won in 1995.

Hootie and the Blowfish won in 1996.

Christina Aguilera won in 2000.

Alicia Keys won in 2002.

Norah Jones won in 2003.

Maroon 5 won in 2005.

John Legend won in 2006.

Carrie Underwood won in 2007.

Amy Winehouse won in 2008.

Adele won in 2009.

Zac Brown Band won in 2010.

Bon Iver won in 2012.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis won in 2014.

Sam Smith won in 2015.

Meghan Trainor won in 2016.

Chance the Rapper won in 2017.

Alessia Cara won in 2018.

Dua Lipa won in 2019.

Billie Eilish won in 2020. That same year she won as Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year all in one night

Olivia Rodrigo won in 2022.

Samara Joy won in 2023.

Victoria Monet won in 2024.

Chappell Roan won in 2025.

Winners from the 1960s

Winners from the 1970s

Winners from the 1980s

Winners from the 1990s

Winners from the 2000s

Winners from the 2010s

Winners from the 2020s

See also

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