Eight nominees competed for Best New Artist at the 2026 Grammy Awards, but only one could take home the honor.
Olivia Dean ultimately won the category during the Sunday, February 1, ceremony at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
“I never really imagined that I would be up here, let alone nominated, so thank you so much,” Dean, 26, said while getting emotional before thanking her manager. “I guess I wanna say I’m up here as a granddaughter of an immigrant. I wouldn’t be here … I’m a product of bravery and I think those people deserve to be celebrated. So, yeah, we’re nothing without each other.”
The other contenders in the Best New Artist category — which recognizes an artist whose releases for the year “achieved a breakthrough into the public consciousness and notably impacted the musical landscape,” according to the Recording Academy — were Katseye, The Marías, Addison Rae, Sombr, Leon Thomas, Alex Warren and Lola Young.
Grammy Awards 2026 Red Carpet Photos: Stars Arrive for Music’s Biggest Night
Thomas, 32, stood out from his fellow nominees with six total nods across categories at the 2026 Grammys ceremony. In addition to Best New Artist, he was also in the running for Album of the Year and Best R&B Album for Mutt, Best R&B Performance for “Mutt — Live From NPR’s Tiny Desk,” Best Traditional R&B Performance for “Vibes Don’t Lie” and Best R&B Song for “Yes It Is.”
Katseye and Young, 25, also received two nominations each. The girl group — which is made up of members Daniela Avanzini, Lara Raj, Manon Bannerman, Megan Skiendiel, Sophia Laforteza and Yoonchae Jeung — vied for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Gabriela,” while Young competed for Best Pop Solo Performance for “Messy.”
As for Dean, The Marías, Rae, 25, Sombr, 20, and Warren, 25, they were only nominated in the Best New Artist category this year.
Thomas was the only Best New Artist contender who was already a Grammy winner prior to this year’s awards show. In 2024, he earned a trophy for Best R&B Song for his role as a songwriter on SZA’s “Snooze.”
Grammy Awards 2026 Nominees and Winners: See the Complete List
Meanwhile, The Marías — the indie pop band made up of lead vocalist María Zardoya, drummer Josh Conway, guitarist Jesse Perlman and keyboardist Edward James — were previously nominated for Album of the Year in 2023 as featured artists on Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti.
Prior to the announcement of the Best New Artist winner, all eight of the nominated acts performed back to back during the 2026 Grammys telecast. The segment was expanded this year after being introduced during the 2025 ceremony.
“We just thought, well, we have eight incredible best new artists. We wouldn’t really want to pick two or three or one or four. So, we were like, ‘Why don’t we try and do what we did last year but super-size it [and] go all eight,’” Grammys executive producer Ben Winston teased in a press conference ahead of the awards show. “It’s gonna be one of the longest [segments] in Grammys history without going through a break. And we’re going to hit one after the next. They’re going to be dotted all over the arena, in different places, some backstage, some out front, some on the side. It’s going to be really exciting.”
Winston added: “It’s hugely ambitious, but we’re going for it, and we’re really excited to showcase [the] best new artists because the nominees deserve such a moment.”
