Winning in a stiff category that included big competition in Anitta, Latto, Muni Long and Omar Apollo, Samara Joy nabbed Best New Artist at Sunday night’s 2023 Grammy Awards.
“Thank you so much for this honor, thank you to everyone who has listened to me or supported me,” she said in her acceptance speech All of you are so inspiring to me and so to be here, because of who I am, because of who you are… to be here just being who I was born to be, by being myself, I’m so thankful.”
She was presented the award by last year’s winner in the category, Olivia Rodrigo.
She thanked her family and gave a special shoutout to her brother, who attended the ceremony as her date.
As People reports, the Bronx-bred musician, who started gaining recognition in college, went viral on TikTok in 2020 and released her latest album in 2022.
That album, Linger Awhile, was also nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Album, and she won that award prior to the telecast.
Ahead of her Grammy nomination, she spoke to Essence about being a part of the legacy of Black women in Jazz.
“The legacy is deep. Each of them had their own unique voice,” she said. “Think about Ella Fitzgerald and her background in the swing era, being part of a big band and being surrounded by musicians like Dizzy Gillespie and Lester Young. Sarah Vaughan, being around Charlie Parker and also being in big bands before expanding on her own. Betty Carter, Carmen McRae, Billie Holiday. Like, there’s so many singers that came out of Billie Holiday. Even Mary Lou Williams — she was a pianist and a composer, and she taught Thelonious Monk. The legacy is deep — and it is important. I’m so glad to to be a child of that. You can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you came from.”
