Grammys Just Changed Best New Artist Rules: Four Submission Years Now Allowed

The Recording Academy just made a major change to the best new artist category, expanding eligibility from three submission years to four. Starting with the 69th Grammy Awards, artists like Ella Langley, Megan Moroney and Geese, who would have previously aged out, now have a real shot at the award. The category’s description also got a rewrite, shifting from“prominence”to“significant cultural and community impact upon the industry and musical landscape.”

So why the change? Because breaking an artist now takes four to five years, not twelve months. Past nominees like Sabrina Carpenter, Jelly Roll and Khruangbin had all been releasing music for over a decade. As Ruby Marchand from the Academy put it, that category is ultimately about impact on culture, not just sales, streams or radio play.

There’s also a label milestone worth noting: Island Records just became the first label in decades to score back-to-back best new artist wins with Chappell Roan and Olivia Dean. With the door now wider open, which artist on the bubble do you think finally gets their Grammy moment this year?