Last summer, you probably sang “Good Luck Babe!” at every festival Chappell Roan headlined, or cursed Sabrina Carpenter for the catchiness of “Espresso.”
Roan and Carpenter captivated the masses and dominated the charts, earning numerous 2025 Grammy nominations — including Best New Artist. Their success not only solidified their place among pop’s elite but also proved that breakout moments can happen at any time, no matter how long an artist has been in the game.
Even though the Best New Artist category is controversial for its guidelines, to the Recording Academy, it does not matter if an artist has “just a few singles or 10 studio albums under their belts.” Meaning that it’s “all about highlighting how an act pushes creative boundaries and challenges a saturated industry with outstanding — and sometimes surprising — music.”
Some of the other musicians nominated for Best New Artist have also been subtly under our noses, putting out music to their small fanbase for years while the rest of the world has been unaware. With the 67th Grammys just around the corner on Sunday, here are some of the other breakout artists who need to be on your radar in the future:
Benson Boone
This 22-year-old’s career started with a short stint on season 19 of “American Idol” nearly four years ago. Following his “Idol” appearance, Boone used TikTok to build his fanbase and it wasn’t long before Imagine Dragons lead singer, Dan Reynolds, hopped on the opportunity to sign him to his label, Night Street Records.
The pop rock and alternative rock singer released a series of singles and two EPs in 2022 and 2023. But his major breakout moment came in January 2024 when he released the edgy power ballad “Beautiful Things.” The hit song peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and garnered 1.7 billion streams on Spotify. He also released his debut album in April called “Fireworks & Rollerblades.”
Boone performed “Beautiful Things” at the VMAs and made the audience gasp as he purposefully flipped off a platform in a sparkly blue jumpsuit, but his biggest jump was joining Taylor Swift during her Eras Tour in London last year.
Doechii
Tampa rapper Jaylah Hickmon (AKA, Doechii) takes inspiration from her home state in her mixtape, “Alligator Bites Never Heal.” The self-proclaimed “Swamp Princess” has had an internet presence for years, posting to YouTube manifesting that she would make it big — and she did. Doechii’s first taste of success was her viral single, “Yucky Blucky Fruitcake.” Since then, she has released two EPs with hit songs like “Persuasion” and three mixtapes, collaborating with artists like SZA, Katy Perry, Banks and many others.
While her mixtape was released in August 2024, Doechii began picking up steam with the general public when she dropped an electrifying Tiny Desk performance for NPR and released a ‘00s Black sitcom-inspired music video for “Denial Is A River” starring Zack Fox and Rickey Thompson. She also collaborated with Issa Rae — who voiced the singer’s inner monologue for “Denial Is A River.”
Doechii has been nominated for two other Grammys: Best Rap Album and Best Rap Performance.
Khruangbin
This instrumental band is nothing like you’ve heard before. The Texas trio has been on the radar of your most educated music super fan for years, but now the Grammys have recognized them for the decade they’ve put into building up their talent.
Created by bassist Laura Lee Ochoa, guitarist Mark Speer and drummer Donald “DJ” Johnson Jr., Khruangbin — which means Airplane — fuse their music with everything from Middle Eastern scales to Peruvian cumbia. The band first found inspiration from Thai funk from the ’60s and ’70s, collaborated with Paul McCartney, and worked with soul singer Leon Bridges on two EPs.
After more than a decade together as a band, Khruangbin has released their fourth album “A La Sala” or “To The Room” in English.
Raye
For years, British artist Raye was shelved by her record label, Polydor Records. The contentious relationship with her label led Raye to become a songwriter for some of pop music’s biggest stars like Beyoncé and Rihanna. She released five EPs and a handful of singles, gaining traction in the U.K. music scene, but Raye didn’t break through until she was freed from her record contract and released her independent debut, the 2023 album “My 21st Century Blues.”
Thanks to TikTok, her single “Escapism” — detailing her experiences with drugs and alcohol dependency — became a smash hit, topping the British charts and becoming the singer’s first-ever Billboard Hot 100 entry.
Since then, Raye has been recognized by the U.K.’s most prestigious music awards, the Brits, where she swept the night, winning most of the top prizes like Best New Artist, Artist of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year.
Raye has been nominated for two other Grammys, including Songwriter of the Year and Best Engineered Album for her work on Lucky Daye’s album “Algorithm.”
Shaboozey
This hip-hop country star is carving out his own path in a notoriously difficult country music scene. Nigerian-American-born Collins Chibueze is known for his smash hit “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” which propelled the musician to become the first Black artist to be No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts at the same time. “A Bar Song” even spent 16 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 — just one week shy of breaking the record for the longest run this decade.
While Shaboozey has been making music since 2014, the musician received a high-profile boost when he collaborated with Beyoncé on her country debut “Cowboy Carter,” featuring on the tracks “Spaghetti,” and “Sweet Honey Buckin.” Shaboozey even performed with Beyoncé at the Christmas Day football game half-time performance.
The country star was also nominated for a slew of CMA Awards last year, including New Artist and Song of the Year. Not long after, Shaboozey was recognized by the Grammys for six awards, highlighting “A Bar Song” for song of the year.
Teddy Swims
Like many of the other nominees in the category, Swims, or Jaten Dimsdale, started on the internet in 2019. The artist fuses genres like pop, soul and country into his powerful music. He released singles and EPs before the vocalist found his sweet spot in the hit breakout song “Lose Control,” earning him his first-ever entry into the Billboard Hot 100 and 1.4 billion streams on Spotify.
Swims’ smokey, rich voice has captivated audiences and it’s only right his impact has garnered him a Best New Artist nod. The musician has just released the second part of his first album “I’ve Tried Everything but Therapy (Part 2)” last week.
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