The Recording Academy CEO, Harvey Mason Jr., recently found himself in the hot seat trying to explain why Sabrina Carpenter โ yes, the same Sabrina with half a dozen albums โ 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 wasnโt a decision that anyone arrived at easily. Or quickly. Or, quite possibly, at all.
โLook,โ Harvey said, โdeciding who qualifies as a โnewโ artist is, wellโฆ not easy. I was about to say itโs simple, but then I realizedโฆ oh no, no, itโs actually the opposite of simple. In fact, itโs the final boss level of Grammy award categories.โ
Now, in Grammy-speak, โBest New Artistโ apparently isnโt as much about being โnewโ as it is about an artist finally reaching โnational or international prominence.โ Sabrina may be six albums deep, but in Grammy Land, it’s all about timing โ which sometimes runs, let’s say, fashionably late.
So how exactly did they decide who was โnewโ? Harvey provided some insight:
โItโs not like we throw darts at a board or spin a wheelโokay, maybe we tried that once, but it got weird. Really, itโs about when an artist feels new. Itโs an art, not a science. Well, maybe a mystic science.โ
Apparently, Sabrina’s sixth album, Short N’ Sweet, has triggered the mystical Grammy vibes required to unlock her โnew artistโ status. A bit like playing a video game where youโve already maxed out levels, but suddenly thereโs a secret bonus round!
Harvey wrapped up his thoughts with a comment that sounds like it was custom-built for legal ambiguity:
โTo me, this feels like a time when our best new artists have broken through and become nationally prominent and are doing amazing work.โ
In other words, the Grammy judges took one look at Sabrinaโs massive success and thought, โWait, whoโs she?โ And now Sabrinaโs officially got her golden ticket into the Grammy New Artist Clubโฆ seven years, six albums, and countless coffee orders later.