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