Grammys to Make Best New Artist Category Even More Confusing

The number of times an artist can submit themselves for a nomination has increased

June 16, 2026

Few Grammys categories garner more antipathy than Best New Artist, where already-established acts frequently receive the coveted nomination long after their respective breakout albums. Infamous examples include Phoebe Bridgers (2020 nominee, three years after Stranger in the Alps), Kaytranada (2021 nominee, five years after 99.9%) and Japanese Breakfast (2022 nominee, six years after Psychopomp). Having heard the criticisms, the Recording Academy is finally switching up the rules… by increasing the number of times an act may submit themselves for BNA from three to four. If you’re wondering how this solves the original issue, that makes two of us.

In a Grammy.com interview announcing the changes, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. emphasized the need to update the Best New Artist category to compete with a rapidly shifting industry. “We've heard from the music community that the way artists are being developed is changing, and the time it's taking to find success or recognition can take longer than it once did,” he said. “Artists are often releasing more music before they actually break through the consciousness of consumers or of our voters, and that evolution directly impacts this Category.”

Per Billboard, that means acts including Ravyn Lenae and Geese, who have each submitted three times, would no longer be eligible under the old rules. (For what it’s worth, Mason has a point regarding a band like Geese, who dropped their major-label debut in 2021 but didn’t really break out until 2025.)

The Academy also revealed a slew of far-more-defensible updates to the ceremony, including the addition of three new categories—Best Asian Pop Music Performance, Best Latin Song, Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance—the reintroduction of two others (Best R&B Collaboration or Duo/Group Performance and Best Traditional Folk Album), allowing online-only releases to submit for Best Album Notes and Best Historical Album, and lowering the percentage of new recordings on an album required for awards consideration from 75% to 66%.

You can get a full rundown of the all changes here. The 69th Grammy Awards will take place Sunday, February 7, 2027.

Alex Suskind is the News Director for Pitchfork. Previously, he oversaw music coverage at New York magazine’s Vulture and Entertainment Weekly. He lives in Brooklyn. ... Read More