Ah, smell that? That’s the sweet smell of the Grammys coming up! The biggest night in music is finally upon us—and it’s lookin’ like it’ll be a good one.
But before we cast our bets on who will win and get a head start on the list for the Grammy Sunday snackage next year, we need to address the elephant in the room: the fact that basically no one really, truly knows how the nominees for the Best New Artist category are chosen. I said what I said!
I know this category is hard to understand, because…haven’t some of this year’s nominees (looking at you, Leon Thomas) been around for literal ages now? This is true, but since the Recording Academy considers “new” to be pretty fluid, it came up with an entire list of rules to determine who makes the cut and who doesn’t. Let’s be real though—you don’t have time for all the lengthy Academy jargon, so I’ve distilled the rules down to their essence to make it really easy to understand.
Join me as I explain the enigma of this category, so you can be the most knowledgeable among your friends come show night.
First of all, who’s nominated for Best New Artist this year?
Olivia Dean
Leon Thomas
Addison Rae
The Marías
Sombr
KATSEYE
Alex Warren
Lola Young
Okay, but does an artist need to be popular to be nominated?
So you’ve looked at all the nominees and there are likely three to five names in the list that you don’t know, and guess what—that’s totally normal. Even though some of these non-pop artists haven't hit your Spotify Daylist, the Recording Academy believes they have made their way into the “public consciousness” in a significant and unique way during the eligibility period.
To put this in layman’s terms, an artist needs to leave a lasting impact on the music industry during a year when they are eligible to be nominated. Think: a sudden entrance into the mainstream, critically acclaimed albums, viral videos, and, of course, musical talent beyond imagination.
When was the 2026 Grammys eligibility period?
This year’s eligibility period took place from August 31, 2024 to August 30, 2025. All your faves who are nominated in this category came to prominence and put out banging music during this critical time frame.
What makes someone eligible for Best New Artist?
Here’s where things begin to get a *little* tricky, so pay close attention! An artist must have a minimum of five singles/tracks OR a complete album to be eligible for Best New Artist. An artist hoping to be considered can also have a maximum of 30 singles/tracks OR three complete albums, previously released. Got it?
If an artist has more than the maximum (or less than the minimum), they are deemed ineligible for the Best New Artist award, even if they had a “significant impact” on the musical landscape and have come into the public consciousnesses during an eligibility period.
Also, something important to remember: Even if an artist hoping to be nominated meets the Grammys numerical release criteria (see above), they can still be ineligible if they start getting widespread, mainstream attention before the year they’re hoping to be nominated. Basically, it’s all about timing!
Take Olivia Dean, as an example. She released her sophomore album, The Art of Loving, in September, which was outside the eligibility window for the 2026 awards. Luckily, three of her singles were issued in time for her to make the ballot: “Nice to Each Other,” “Lady Lady,” and “Man I Need.”
And the music industry? Impacted! Because of this, Olivia was still able to snag a Best New Artist nomination this year.
How many times can someone be nominated for Best New Artist?
Musicians are allowed to be nominated in this category a maximum of three times—solo, in a group, or a combination of the two. Allow me to deconstruct this for ya with a ~hypothetical~ example.
If a musician was in a band and said band got three Best New Artist nominations but then the member chose to leave and pursue a solo career, they could not get a Best New Artist nomination as a solo artist.
In the words of the Recording Academy, “Being previously considered three times either as a solo artist, in a previous band, or some mixture of the two means an artist is not eligible for Best New Artist consideration.” Sorry, Grammy hopefuls—I don’t make the rules!
