According to Billboard, there are 323 singers who are eligible to be nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammys this year — including one who's already on her sixth album.
That would be Sabrina Carpenter, who's been releasing music since 2014 and put out her first album in 2015. So how is she a new artist? As Billboard explains, there's no maximum number of releases that an artist can put out prior to being a Best New Artist nominee. Instead, the Grammys consider when "the artist had attained a breakthrough or prominence.”
Last year's cutoff date for Grammy nominations was Sept. 15, and at that point the highest Sabrina had ever climbed on the chart was #48, back in 2021 with her song "Skin." So it's no wonder that since then the Grammys have decided Sabrina has "attained a breakthrough or prominence." Having a Platinum album and three top 10 singles will do that for you.
Other artists who are eligible this year, according to Billboard, are Benson Boone and Teddy Swims. Benson's been releasing music since 2021 but only released his debut album this year. Teddy's been releasing music since 2019, but he put out his debut album last year on the Grammy cutoff date — and 2024 was his big breakout year.
Other buzzy artists who are eligible for Best New Artist despite having been around for a while include Chappell Roan and Shaboozey.