Meet the 2026 Grammys Best New Artist nominees: KATSEYE, Sombr, Olivia Dean, and more

Addison rose to fame on TikTok in 2019 and was an early member of the Hype House. She became friends with Kourtney Kardashian, and in 2023, she released her debut EP, AR,. 

Aligning herself with dance pop artists such as Charli helped the 25-year-old to control the narrative after a messy few first years, and she finally broke through in 2025 with her self-titled debut album, which debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 and earned critical acclaim.

She split from her longtime boyfriend Omer Fedi in October 2025, after four years of dating.

"Ordinary" was the song of 2025, appearing on Love Is Blind, and with Alex performing alongside the likes of Jelly Roll and Luke Combs during their festival performances.

Alex, 25, was  – alongside Addison – a founding member of the collaborative TikTok group the Hype House from 2019 to 2022 and released his debut single "Burning Down" in 2024. 

But it was his 2025 single "Ordinary" that peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 for multiple weeks, as well as Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom; "Ordinary" became the longest-running number one song on the UK Singles Chart of the 2020s.

Alex has shared that Justin Bieber and Shawn Mendes have been inspirations, as well as Benson Boone and David Kushner.

Alex's father died when he was nine, and his mother kicked him out of the house when he was 18; she died in 2021.

In 2018 Alex, then 18, began dating Kouvr Annon who was also a member of Hype House, and whom he met on Snapchat. Kouvr moved to California from Hawaii to live with Alex in his car, and they married on June 22, 2024, in Escondido, California.

KATSEYE (pronounced "Cats Eye") was formed on the 2023 reality series Dream Academy, which saw 20 female candidates from around the world competing in three "missions" to test their artistry in the world of K-Pop. 

Through fan votes and judge reactions,  Daniela Avanzini, Lara Raj, Manon Bannerman, Megan Skiendiel, Sophia Laforteza, and Yoonchae Jeung were chosen as the global girl group, and released their debut single "Debut" in 2024.

But it was their August 2025 collaboration with GAP that saw them break through as the group joined other dancers for the inclusive "Better in Denim" campaign, dancing to a re-recorded version of Kelis' "Milkshake" with original choreography by Robbie Blue.

Similar to Addison, the girls have been noted for their distinctive fashion styling rawing influence from Y2K fashion.

The band has also been nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for their 2025 single "Gabriela".

Leon Thomas has been nominated for best New Artist but is already a Grammy winner – the 32-year-old won Best R&B Song for his songwriting on the 2024 SZA song "Snooze". 

The singer-songwriter started his career as a child actor on Broadway in the 2000s, playing Young Simba in The Lion King. 

But he broke out in 2025 with the single "Mutt" which hit number six on the Billboard charts. 

Leon is now nominated for six Grammy Awards this year, including Album Of The Year (Mutt), Best R&B Performance ("Mutt (Live From NPR's Tiny Desk)"), Best Traditional R&B Performance ("Vibes Don't Lie"), Best R&B Song ("Yes It Is"), and Best R&B Album (Mutt).

British singer-songwriter Lola Young has been compared to Amy Winehouse and Adele thanks to her smoky vocals and lyrics which explore, and challenge, what it means to be a young woman in the 21st century.

She released her debut album, My Mind Wanders and Sometimes Leaves Completely, in 2023, but it was in 2024 that she found critical acclaim, with the 2024 albums This Wasn't Meant for You Anyway and the release of the single "Messy" which went viral on TikTok.

At the time, however, Lola was in recovery for a cocaine addiction; 'It’s been a struggle – I’ve definitely had to work on some internal healing while grappling with touring and stuff," she told the Guardian. 

Looking to artists like Joni Mitchell, Prince, and Frank Ocean, Lola's 2024 album drew inspiration, and the motif of writing as if talking to a friend, from SZA's Ctrl, and she went on to win the Ivor Novello Award for Rising Star and the ASCAP Vanguard Award.

But she also found herself in the headlines when her tours suffered various complications, including a Coachella slot being interrupted when Lola ran off to be sick, and the 25-year-old crying on stage during the Summertime Ball when her in-ear monitors failed.

Her team hired a sober coach, and in September she confirmed that she would be pausing all planned public appearances for three months for the sake of her mental health.

Lola's performance at the Grammys will be her first public appearance since.

Olivia Dean, 26, is another first-time nominee, earning a Best New Artist nomination driven by the success of her acclaimed album The Art Of Loving.

But Olivia has been slowly chipping away at success for years: she released her debut album Messy in 2023 and that same year was selected as BBC Music Introducing Artist of the Year.  

Her sophomore album The Art of Loving (2025), and the singles "Man I Need," "Nice to Each Other," and "Lady Lady" saw the world fall in love with her.

Olivia attended the famous BRIT school as a teenager in London, where she became friends with RAYE. 

Inspired by soul and RnB artists such as Lauryn Hill, Jill Scott, Amy Winehouse, and Carole King, Olivia has described her music as "devastating heartbreak ballads and sing-along self-love anthems".

She began dating drummer Eddie Burns, a band member for Clairo, in April 2025, and she has also become an ambassador for the likes of Chanel and Burberry.

Sombr is the stage name of Shane Michael Boose, a 20-year-old singer who has broken through thanks to social media and viral audios on TikTok.

He began performing at the age of 15 and chose his name as it incorporated his initial, SMB, and reflected his emotional state as a teenager. His debut single was released in 2021, but it was in 2025 that he broke through, two years after he signed a record deal with Warner Records, and two of his songs, "Back to Friends" and "Undressed," both gained popularity on TikTok. 

He earned three 2025 MTV Video Music Awards, winning one for Best Alternative Video (for "Back to Friends"), and he also performed at the ceremony.

Sombr makes indie rock pop music, and has said his inspirations include Jeff Buckley, the Velvet Underground, David Bowie,and  Billie Eilish.

His debut album I Barely Know Her was released on August 22, 2025, and received positive reviews.

His fellow nominee Addison starred in the music video for his 2026 single "12 to 12"

The Marías have been active for 10 years as an indie pop band consisting of lead vocalist María Zardoya, drummer/producer Josh Conway, guitarist Jesse Perlman, and keyboardist Edward James.

They released their debut album in 2021, and it was nominated for a Grammy for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, and they toured with Halsey. 

In 2022, they collaborated with Bad Bunny on the song "Otro Atardecer" from his album Un Verano Sin Ti, which led to another Grammy nomination.

Maria, who sings in English and Spanish, also performed alongside Bad Bunny at several stadium concerts on his world tour, and they have also collaborated with Eyedress.

Their second album Submarine was released in April 2024, with inspiration from Selena, Norah Jones, Nina Simone, and the Strokes.