The Recording Academy CEO, Harvey Mason Jr., recently found himself in the hot seat trying to explain why Sabrina Carpenter – yes, the same Sabrina with half a dozen albums – just scored a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist.
In an interview that left The Hollywood Reporter and most fans scratching their heads, Harvey made it clear: this wasn’t a decision that anyone arrived at easily. Or quickly. Or, quite possibly, at all.
“Look,” Harvey said, “deciding who qualifies as a ‘new’ artist is, well… not easy. I was about to say it’s simple, but then I realized… oh no, no, it’s actually the opposite of simple. In fact, it’s the final boss level of Grammy award categories.”
Now, in Grammy-speak, “Best New Artist” apparently isn’t as much about being “new” as it is about an artist finally reaching “national or international prominence.” Sabrina may be six albums deep, but in Grammy Land, it’s all about timing – which sometimes runs, let’s say, fashionably late.
So how exactly did they decide who was “new”? Harvey provided some insight:
“It’s not like we throw darts at a board or spin a wheel—okay, maybe we tried that once, but it got weird. Really, it’s about when an artist feels new. It’s an art, not a science. Well, maybe a mystic science.”
Apparently, Sabrina’s sixth album, Short N’ Sweet, has triggered the mystical Grammy vibes required to unlock her “new artist” status. A bit like playing a video game where you’ve already maxed out levels, but suddenly there’s a secret bonus round!
Harvey wrapped up his thoughts with a comment that sounds like it was custom-built for legal ambiguity:
“To me, this feels like a time when our best new artists have broken through and become nationally prominent and are doing amazing work.”
In other words, the Grammy judges took one look at Sabrina’s massive success and thought, “Wait, who’s she?” And now Sabrina’s officially got her golden ticket into the Grammy New Artist Club… seven years, six albums, and countless coffee orders later.
