The 2026 Grammy Best New Artist nominations
The 2026 Grammy Best New Artist nominations can be a better insight into trends in the music industry and in the Academy than the other category nominations. By looking at who was nominated and who was snubbed, you can get an inkling of what it all means. Spoiler warning – it’s about hits and misses.
I think this year’s nominations for Best New Artist reflect a shift toward wider genre representation and changing industry dynamics, and recognition of the power of social media stars, indie musicians, and international groups. Also, some prominent snubs also raise questions about exactly where the Recording Academy thinks the music industry is going, and where the audience is right now.
First, who’s in: artists from mainstream pop (Addison Rae), modern R&B (Leon Thomas, Olivia Dean), indie/alt (The Marías, Lola Young), and the genre-blending act Katseye. This points to a trend away from pop/rock domination and demonstrates the Academy’s continuing expansion into varied musical styles, and the fragmentation of the audience and its enjoyment of many more varied styles and genres.
Katseye is an especially interesting choice. A global girl group formed through a reality show, the group’s six members hail from the Philippines, the USA, Switzerland, and South Korea. They blend Western pop music with a K-pop performance style. The result is to my mind, is very good teen-pop in some songs, and in others New York-tinged dance pop – all clever and slickly produced, but not out of the ordinary. (Apparently, over a billion streams disagree with me.) But they do represent the market’s demand for other genres and blended genres. I am glad to see a girl group nominated, and especially one whose members are from four countries.
Addison Rae, a TikTok celebrity, and Alex Warren, an influencer-turned-singer, show how digital stardom is being recognized by the Academy, which seems to be responding to shifts in how artists break through in today’s digital era. It’s about time.
The “late-breaking” artists, like Sombr, Lola Young, and Olivia Dean, who have worked in the industry for several years but only recently achieved major success, are another plus for the Academy. This fits a recent Grammy pattern of spotlighting artists who “break out” after time spent honing their craft, not just immediate viral sensations. This, to me, is a nod to sustainability.
Who was snubbed? Latin artists. Not totally, given that the Marias’ absolutely terrific lead singer María Zardoya is Puerto Rican, and Katseye’s Daniela Avanzini is a Venezuelan-Cuban American, but these were the only Latin artists nominated in this category, and not as solos, but as groups. However, let me say that Zardoya, especially deserved the nom and she – and the band – have broken new ground and demonstrated superb talent and musicality, especially in their 2024 Submarine album.
It’s true that several Latin acts—such as Bad Bunny, Karol G, and Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso—were recognized in other Grammy categories and received significant critical attention for their mainstream impact in 2025-2026. But I think this was a missed opportunity for the Academy to not use the Best New Artist category to boost some of the fast-rising artists in the fastest growing segment of music, especially in the US, where Latin is 9% all music revenue.
Given that, where were The Mexican superband The Warning, or the queen of love songs (and many other kinds)Irene Diaz, or Mexico’s Kenia Os and Bratty, who have seen growing international and domestic success, or the ever versatile Nancy Sanchez. Others whose absence was conspicuous were Mexico’s Grupo Frontera, whose chart-topping collaborations and regional Mexican influence have driven global interest in the genre, and Colombian bands like Morat and advance projects by members of Piso 21, given their international streaming success and crossover appeal.
So, hits and misse – or rather, missed opportunities: TikTok and social media got their due, and a hugely popular global girl band got its due, and late bloomers got their due. But Latino and Mexican artists got mostly overlooked. Hits and misses – but that is the story of the Grammys every year. And aren’t we glad they are there?
Banner: María Zardoya of The Marias. source: TikTok
Patrick O’Heffernan
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