Billboard Explains: Grammys Best New Artist Award – Billboard

The Best New Artist category of the Grammy Awards, also known as one of the Big Four Awards of the night, often has lasting effects on an artist’s career. In fact, eight of the last 10 Best New Artist winners at the Grammy Awards have reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. But what are the criteria for being nominated for Best New Artist, and who are some of the past winners in the category? The last episode of The billboard explains breaks it down.

The Best New Artist category is almost as old as the Grammys themselves. Presented at the second annual Grammy Awards on November 29, 1959, Bobby Darin was the first artist to receive the award. The category has been present at every Grammy since, with the exception of the 1967 ceremony.

Billboard’Awards editor Paul Grein summed up the purpose of the Best New Artist award for The billboard explains. “What the Best New Artist Nomination does is it shines a light on people, for the vast Grammy audience, which is made up of music fans, but also people who may not be than casual music fans,” he said. “They are probably introduced to these artists.”

As for the award requirements, the original rules stated that a nominee must be an artist who has released at least five tracks or one album, must not have submitted more than three times for the category, and must have made a significant breakthrough in one year of eligibility. period. However, these rules have changed over the years. A notable example is Gaga’s lack of nomination in the Best New Artist category because her single “Just Dance” was nominated for Best Dance Recording in 2009. The rules have been changed to state that an artist can be nominated as long as that artist has not been nominated before. released an entire album or won a Grammy.

The most recent winner for Best New Artist was Olivia Rodrigo due to the success of her debut album. SOUR and his hit single “Drivers License”. Billie Eilish won in 2020 and became the second and youngest person to win all four major categories in the same year. Other winners include Dua Lipa, Megan Thee Stallion, Sam Smith, Adele and Mariah Carey. Returning home with a Best New Artist award, the artist often gains in streams, album sales, and/or Billboard chart performance.

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