Who Can Win Best New Artist At The Grammys?

In the past, nominees and winners for Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards have baffled music fans. For example, Meghan Trainor won the Grammy for Best New Artist last year at the 58th Annual ceremony. While fans can all agree that Meghan Trainor is fabulous, the 2016 win was confusing when considering “All About That Bass” was released back in 2014. With the 2017 Grammys approaching, and with nominations being announced on Dec. 6, you may be wondering how the Grammys’ Best New Artist nominees are selected?

First, it’s important to understand the Grammy eligibility period. According to grammy.com, the 59th Annual Grammy Awards eligibility period for albums spans from Oct. 1, 2015 to Sept. 30, 2016. With this time frame in mind, we can move on to the Grammys’ criteria for selecting new artists, which changed this year because of the evolving music industry.

The Grammy Awards announced new rules for selecting nominees in June. The press release explained that updates have been made to the selection process for Best New Artist based on the way new artists deliver music. The announcement stated, “Previous Best New Artist rules were amended to remove the album barrier given current trends in how new music and developing artists are released and promoted.” And, the new eligibility requirements are as follows, as reported in the June press release:

Must have released a minimum of five singles/tracks or one album, but no more than 30 singles/tracks or three albums. May not have entered into this category more than three times, including as a performing member of an established group. Must have achieved a breakthrough into the public consciousness and impacted the musical landscape during the eligibility period.

With the eligibility period and regulations in mind, some of these surprising past winners and nominees are starting to make sense. So, who will win big at the Grammy Awards on Feb. 12, 2017? Well, first we need to find out who the nominees are!

Meghan Trainor will announce the nominees for the Best New Artist, Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year, and Album Of The Year categories on Tuesday, December 6, at 8:30 a.m. ET on CBS This Morning, so you can find out then.