The Grammy Awards are this weekend, with artists like Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar and Taylor Swift being the most nominated.
The major categories are stacked with competition, including the Best New Artist award race. Benson Boone, Sabrina Carpenter, Doechii, Khruangbin, Raye, Chappell Roan, Shaboozey and Teddy Swims are all nominated. Who will win? We’ll have to see on Sunday.
But before this year’s Grammys, here’s a look back at a few previous Best New Artist Nominees and where they are now.
Ice Spice
Ice Spice was nominated for the coveted award in 2024, but lost to Victoria Monét.
Since then, she’s kept her star rising, releasing her first studio album, Y2K!, in July before dropping the deluxe version, Y2K!: I’m Just a Girl, featuring five new songs, including the highly anticipated “Hannah Montana” with DaBaby and NLE Choppa, in December.
Lil Uzi Vert
Since being nominated for Best New Artist at the 2018 Grammy Awards, Lil Uzi Vert has earned three other nominations, including Best Rap Performance for “Bad and Boujee” with Migos.
They dropped their second studio album, Eternal Atake, in 2020. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Chart and marked the biggest streaming week for an album since 2018.
Uzi released Pink Tape three years later, topping the Billboard 200 Chart upon its debut. It also spawned a Top 10 single, “Just Wanna Rock,” that Complex noted earned over 500 million TikTok views in three weeks and was nominated for Best Rap Song at the 2024 Grammy Awards.
Lil Uzi Vert dropped Eternal Atake 2 in November.
H.E.R.
Though H.E.R. didn’t win the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2019, she walked away with awards for Best R&B Album for her self-titled debut compilation and Best R&B Performance for “Best Part” with Daniel Caesar, alongside two other nominations: Album of the Year and Best R&B Song for “Focus.”
Her second compilation, I Used to Know Her, earned H.E.R. another Album of the Year nomination the following year, with Record and Song of the Year for “Hard Place” and Best R&B Performance for “Could’ve Been” featuring Bryson Tiller. The track was also nominated for Best R&B Song. In 2021, H.E.R. won her third Grammy for her single “I Can’t Breathe,” inspired by the aftermath of George Floyd’s death.
The following year, the 27-year-old’s song “Fight for You,” written for the film Judas and the Black Messiah, earned her a Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Performance and two other nominations: Song of the Year and Best Song Written for Visual Media. Also in 2022, her debut studio album, Back of My Mind, earned nominations for Album of the Year and Best R&B Album, alongside nods for Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance for “Damage” and Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song for “Hold Us Together” (Hope Mix) with Tauren Wells.
Kaytranada
Kaytranda won his first two Grammy Awards in 2021 — Best Dance/Electronic Album for his second album, Bubba, and Best Dance Recording for “10%” — with a Best New Artist nomination.
The DJ, producer, rapper and singer has collaborated with many, including Aminé, Buddy, H.E.R. and Victoria Monét.
“Intimidated” featuring H.E.R. earned him a Best Dance/Electronic Recording Grammy in 2023.
In June, Kaytranada released Timeless, which is up for Best Dance/Electronic Album at this year’s ceremony. “Witchy,” a track from the album featuring Childish Gambino, is nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Recording, and Doechii and JT’s “Alter Ego – Kaytranada Remix” is nominated for Best Remixed Recording.
Chloe x Halle
Under Beyoncé’s tutelage, Chloe x Halle quickly became an R&B duo to watch in the late-2010s, earning a Best New Artist nomination in 2019. The sisters’ 2018 debut album, The Kids Are Alright, earned a Grammy nomination for Best Urban Contemporary Album. In 2020, they released the well-received Ungodly Hour, which earned them three more Grammy nominations: Best Progressive R&B Album, Best R&B Song for “Do It,” and Best Traditional R&B Performance for “Wonder What She Thinks of Me.”
Since then, Chloë and Halle Bailey have pursued solo careers in music and on the big and small screens. However, Chloë teased a new Chloe x Halle album could be in the works in an interview with People in December.
Latto
Latto dropped her debut album, Queen of Da Souf, in 2020. Her sophomore effort, 2022’s 777, helped put her on the map, with its lead single, “Big Energy,” becoming the longest-charting solo female rap song in Billboard 100 history, Hot 97 reported. A live performance of the song was nominated for Best Melodic Rap Performance at the 2023 Grammy Awards, with Latto nominated for Best New Artist that same year.
In August, she released Sugar Honey Iced Tea, which includes “Big Mama,” which is nominated for Best Melodic Rap Performance at this year’s ceremony.
Doja Cat
Doja Cat was nominated for Best New Artist in 2021, alongside nominations for Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance for her 2019 hit “Say So.” Her first win came in 2022 when she won Best Pop Duo/Group Performance alongside SZA for their song “Kiss Me More.” The track was also up for Record and Song of the Year, with her third album, Planet Her, nominated for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album.
Doja Cat has garnered 19 Grammy nominations throughout her career. Her fourth studio album, Scarlet, released in 2023, spawned hits such as “Attention,” “Agora Hills,” and “Paint the Town Red.”
“Attention” earned two Grammy nominations for Best Rap Song and Best Melodic Rap Performance, while “Paint the Town Red” was nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance at last year’s Grammys. In April, Doja dropped a reissue of Scarlet, Scarlet 2 Claude, featuring seven new tracks, including ASAP Rocky and Teezo Touchdown features.
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