Grammy Award for Best New Artist facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Grammy Award for Best New Artist
Olivia Dean is the most recent recipient
Presented by	National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
Country	United States
First awarded	1960
Currently held by	Olivia Dean (2026)

The Grammy Award for Best New Artist is a special prize given to a new music artist. This award celebrates someone who has recently become famous and released their first important recordings. It's like a big "welcome to the music world" award! The Grammy for Best New Artist has been given out almost every year since 1960. Since 2022, the artist who won the award the year before gets to present it to the new winner during the televised ceremony.

Sometimes, people joke that winning this award can be a bit tricky. They say it has a reputation for being given to artists whose music careers don't always stay super famous for a long time. For example, Taffy Danoff from the Starland Vocal Band (who won in 1977) once said it felt like a "kiss of death" for their career.

There was one very unusual time, in 1990, when the award was taken back. A music group called Milli Vanilli originally won the award. However, it was later discovered that the main members, Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus, did not actually sing on their album. Because of this, the award was officially canceled, which is a very rare event in Grammy history!

Interesting Facts About Best New Artist Winners

Since the award began, many different types of artists have won. Most winners have been solo female artists. Groups or duos have also won many times. Solo male artists have won less often, especially since the 1970s.

Only a few artists have won both Best New Artist and Album of the Year in the same year. These include 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, which is a huge achievement!

In the early years, comedians sometimes won this award, like Bob Newhart. But this became very rare after 1963. Only a few country music artists have won, including LeAnn Rimes (who was the youngest winner at 14 years old in 1997), Carrie Underwood (2007), and Zac Brown Band (2010). Tone Lōc was the first rap artist to be nominated in 1990. Skrillex was the first electronic music artist nominated in 2012.

Many artists from different countries have been nominated or won. For example, The Beatles from the UK won in 1965. José Feliciano from Puerto Rico was the first Hispanic and only blind artist to win in 1969. Alessia Cara is a Canadian winner (2018). The Swingle Singers from France were the first foreign act to win in 1966. In 2026, Sophia, Yoonchae, and Manon from Katseye became the first Philippine, South Korean, and Swiss artists to be nominated.

David Crosby and Carl Palmer are the only artists to be nominated for this award twice. David Crosby was nominated with The Byrds and won with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

How Winners Are Chosen

The process for choosing the Best New Artist has changed over time. For many years, members of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences would suggest artists. Then, a special committee would pick the final nominees.

In 2021, the Academy changed this system. Now, all members vote directly for the nominees. This means more people have a say in who gets nominated! Starting in 2022, the number of nominees in this category increased to 10. However, for the 2024 ceremony, the number of nominees was reduced back to eight.

Rules for Eligibility

The rules for who can be nominated for Best New Artist have also changed several times. In 2010, the rules were updated because Lady Gaga couldn't be nominated even though she was a new, popular artist. Her song "Just Dance" had been nominated in a previous year, which made her ineligible.

The rules were changed again in 2016 to make it easier for new artists to qualify. Now, to be eligible, 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 before, even as part of another group.
• Have become well-known and made an impact on the music scene during the past year.

These rules help ensure that the award goes to truly new and breakthrough artists.

Recipients

The years listed below are when the Grammy Awards ceremony took place, honoring music released in the year before.

Inaugural winner Bobby Darin won in 1960.

Comedian Bob Newhart won in 1961. He also won the Album of the Year award that same year.

The Swingle Singers were the first group and first 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 won 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 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 Monét won in 2024.

Chappell Roan won in 2025.

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Premio Grammy por mejor artista novel para niños

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