Taylor Swift, Drake, and 16 other famous musicians who were nominated for best new artist at the Grammys — but lost

He’s now one of the most famous names in the music industry, but in 1971, John lost the award for best new artist to The Carpenters.

John has since won five Grammys. He’s also one of few stars to reach EGOT status, meaning he’s won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony.

In 1992, Boyz II Men lost the award for best new artist to the singer-songwriter Marc Cohn.

The trio didn’t leave empty-handed, as they took home the award for best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocals that same night.

The group has earned four Grammys and 15 nominations.

At the 1995 ceremony, Green Day was nominated for best new artist alongside Ace of Base, Counting Crows, Crash Test Dummies, and Crow.

Although the award went to Crow, Green Day’s album “Dookie” took home the prize for best alternative music performance that same night.

The band has since won four Grammys.

Known for iconic songs like “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” and “You’re Still the One,” Twain’s music has sold millions of copies worldwide.

But when she was up for best new artist at the 1996 Grammys, Hootie & the Blowfish took home the award.

Today, Twain has five Grammys.

In 2000, Spears was making a name for herself in pop music, coming off the success of her debut single “…Baby One More Time.”

That same year, Spears missed out on the Grammy for best new artist, which went to her “Mickey Mouse Club” costar Aguilera.

Spears won her first and only Grammy in 2005 for her song “Toxic.”

Lavigne was nominated for best new artist after the success of her debut album, which included hits like “Complicated,” “Sk8er Boi,” and “I’m With You.”

During the February 2003 ceremony, Norah Jones took home the award.

Although Lavigne has not yet won a Grammy, she’s been nominated eight times.

Like Lavigne, Mayer also lost out on the title of best new artist in 2003.

He has since taken home seven Grammys, including for song of the year.

In 2006, Ciara was nominated for best new artist alongside Fall Out Boy, Legend, Keane, and Sugarland.

Legend left with the award, but Ciara didn’t go home empty-handed. That night, she won the best short-form music video award for her feature on Missy Elliott’s song “Lose Control.”

After her hugely successful Eras Tour, it’s hard to imagine a time when Swift didn’t win the title of best new artist at the Grammys.

However, when she was nominated in 2008, the award went to Amy Winehouse.

Since then, Swift has won 14 Grammys. She is the only artist in history to win album of the year four times.

In 2009, the Jonas Brothers were in a tight race for best new artist alongside Adele, Duffy, Jazmine Sullivan, and Lady A.

Adele took home the prize, but the Jonas Brothers have gone on to have an extremely successful career.

Although they’ve yet to win a Grammy, they’ve been nominated for two.

Although Drake now has five Grammys under his belt, he lost best new artist to jazz musician Esperanza Spalding in 2011.

Like Drake, Bieber also lost the award for best new artist to Esperanza Spalding.

He’s since taken home two Grammys and earned 23 nominations.

In 2012, Minaj lost out on the title of best new artist to indie-folk group Bon Iver. But Minaj made history that night as the first female rapper to perform solo at the Grammys.

Despite being nominated 12 times, Minaj has yet to win a Grammy.

Although Rolling Stone’s Brian Hiatt called Lamar “the greatest rapper alive” in 2017, the musician didn’t take home the award for best new artist in 2014.

The award went to Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. But since then, Lamar has earned a whopping 57 Grammy nominations and 17 wins.

Like Lamar, Ed Sheeran was up for the award for best new artist in 2014.

He later went on to win two of his four Grammys in 2016.

In 2018, SZA was up against Khalid, Alessia Cara, Lil Uzi Vert, and Julia Michaels for best new artist. The honor went to Cara.

SZA won her first Grammy in 2022 for collaborating with Doja Cat on the hit song “Kiss Me More.” She has since won a total of four Grammys.

In 2020, Rosalía was nominated for best new artist alongside names like Billie Eilish, Lizzo, Lil Nas X, and Maggie Rogers.

Although Eilish walked away with the award, Rosalía made history that night as the first all-Spanish-language singer to be nominated in that category.

She was nominated in the same category at the 2017 Latin Grammys but didn’t win.

She’s since won two Grammys and 11 Latin Grammys.

In 2021, Doja Cat was nominated for best new artist. She lost to Megan Thee Stallion.

She didn’t have to wait long for a Grammy win, though. She won her first in 2022 for “Kiss Me More.”

This story was originally published in February 2024 and most recently updated on January 30, 2025.