GRAMMY CHEW: BNA AND THE PROMINENCE PERPLEX

The Grammys are always political, but Best New Artist is the most political category of all.

Whatever the present set of rules governing eligibility for this category—number of releases over what period of time, previous nominations, when the artist “came to prominence” and so on—what remains uncertain is how the Academy will decide to apply those rules to nominate, you know, whomever it likes.

The marketplace has undergone yet another revolution over the last year, and now the streaming charts look quite different, filled with indie breakouts, many of them in country and música Mexicana. Then there are artists who’ve been making music for years but only recently had breakthroughs. And there are artists who might not fit the Academy cabal’s idea of a worthy contender.

It's also interesting that just as this influx of big arrivals from independent channels transforms the landscape, the Academy decides to contract the Big 4 categories from 10 nominees back down to eight (they were all upped to 10 in 2018). That’s a 20% reduction in potential contenders, which means the Secret Chamber will have less leeway to accommodate its various agendas.

Here are some of the issues we see developing this year:

1. Peso Pluma just dropped a new album—in the wake of multiple high-profile features—and is thus likely to remain in the spotlight. Will the Academy recognize this indie giant’s importance? Will música Mexicana, now a bona fide force in the mainstream, be recognized in the top-tier categories or remain ghettoized in genre?
   
   
2. boygenius represents a reversal of the Steve Lacy phenomenon—he was rejected for BNA ostensibly because his former band, The Internet, had been nominated. Phoebe Bridgers was nominated as a solo act but is now in this indie trio. How will the Academy deal with that?
   
   
3. Jelly Roll has been putting out records for 13 years, but there’s no question that he’s “come to prominence” in a big way this year. Could he still be a BNA nominee? The Academy removed the “maximum number of tracks released” stipulation two years ago, so that shouldn’t be an issue. But how do the musos in the chamber feel about face tattoos and Southern rock?
   
   
   
   
4. The War and Treaty have been around for a while, and Grammy likes them—they previously performed on the show. Though they’ve won Americana Awards and were nominated for an ACM, they’ve never been Grammy contenders. Will they be considered a new artist? Is this the year they came to prominence, partly thanks to the Grammy show?
   
   
5. Zach Bryan, one of the most significant arrivals of the last several years, was criminally overlooked—for BNA and more—in 2023. Will he be disqualified for consideration by the one nom he did get, for Country Solo Performance?
   
   
6. HARDY, who’s put a couple of albums out—and wrote multiple hits for other acts—definitely came to prominence with the provocative “wait in the truck” f/Lainey Wilson. In terms of artistry and impact, he should be right down the middle for BNA, right? Right? Is this thing on?
   
   
7. Noah Kahan, who has demonstrably blown up this year with “Stick Season,” among other cuts from the album of the same name, has been knocking around for about seven years. But there’s no doubt he's just come to prominence. If the Academy agrees, that is.

As you can see from just this handful of examples, the Academy has considerable leverage with its eligibility rules to include or exclude whomever it likes. Whether it will apply them in a way that respects the present direction of the culture and the marketplace remains to be seen.