Overview

• Billboard reports the 2026 Best New Artist race lacks the star power and clarity seen in 2025, when Chappell Roan topped a stacked field.
• Singer-songwriter Alex Warren emerges as a leading prospect on the strength of “Ordinary,” which spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100 and followed a top 10 debut album and a recent VMA best new artist win.
• Analysts note headwinds for Warren given recent history, as no male act has taken the Grammy since Chance the Rapper in 2017 and few rock-adjacent male artists have won this century.
• Other names floated include sombr, Ravyn Lenae, The Marías, Leon Thomas, Gigi Perez, Lola Young and Jessie Murph, each with recent breakout tracks or momentum but limited chart histories.
• Last year’s telecast featured performances from all eight Best New Artist nominees and delivered sizable streaming lifts for seven of them, underscoring the category’s exposure value.