Under the Recording Academy’s Grammy Awards 2020, Ingrid
Andress, Phoebe Bridgers, Chika, Noah Cyrus, D Smoke, Doja Cat, Kaytranada and
Megan Thee Stalion have been the names to be nominated as this year’s Grammy
nominations under the Best New Artist category.

In a primary glance across the list, semi-established and known,
up-and-coming names like Megan Thee Stallion and Doja Cat are markedly visible.
However, the list includes more. As an apparently nuanced take to cover all
sides, names familiar in the indie circuit, such as Phoebe Bridgers and
DJ-producer Kaytranada have been included in the list.

 The category further
includes as nominees Country artist Ingrid Andress as well as rappers D-Smoke
and Chika, alongside the new face for the Cyrus family, Noah Cyrus.

Ingrid Andress released her album ‘Lady Like’ in 2020 which
became one of the success stories crafted in the gloomy, pandemic-ridden year.
Hailing from Colorado, Andress made a name in 2019 as well with her single
‘More Hearts Than Mine’ being able to win in fact a lot more than one heart.

Phoebe Bridgers, who made it to Grammy’s Best New Artist
category, gained her spot on the Billboard Top 100 list at number 57 along
with Maggie Rogers on November 28 this year for their cover of the famous Goo
Goo Dolls song Iris. The cover itself has bit of a history, as Bridgers promised
to the fans to cover the song if Donald Trump lost the Presidential race in
2020,eventually earning the seal of approval from Goo Goo Dolls themselves.

Read more: In pics | Take a look at the top nominations for 2021 annual Grammy awards

Despite running the risk of generalization, Chika is by and
large the rebellious voice in the list. The 23-year old from Montgomery,
Alabama went viral for freestyling on Kanye West’s ‘Jesus Walks’ beat, tearing
into West for his support for Donald Trump. Currently, with a XXL Freshman
introduction and a Grammy nomination, she is set to make it big in the Hip-Hop
industry.

Daughter of Billy Ray, sister of Miley and above all the
owner of the most-recent voice from the Cyrus family to embark on a musical
journey, Noah Cyrus came up in the industry with her 2018 EP ‘Good Cry’,
followed by ‘The End of Everything’ which came out this year.

D Smoke won the first season of Netflix’s Rhythm+Flow and
probably kept grinding both essential qualities for a rapper, eventually
switching screens from small to big as he shifted from Reality show to Grammy
nomination. Black Habits, an album released by D Smoke back in February, has
also acquired a nomination under Best Rap Album this year. The biggest from
Smoke, however, has been Gaspar Yanga, in collaboration with Snoop Dogg.

Doja Cat has been a name frequently heard since a while now.
The rapper’s debut album was ‘Amala’. her 2020 hit single Say So, has been both
a market and industry favourite. Born and raised in Los Angeles, one of two
home grounds of Hip-Hop in US alongside New York, she started pushing out music
on SoundCloud tracks as a teenager.

Read more: The Weeknd slams the Grammys after missing out on nomination, calls the award show ‘corrupt’

Kaytranada has maybe been the odd one in this list, as the
DJ’s career has been in the mix for close to a decade. Through releasing solo
works and collaborations, the Canadian has made a place for himself and to
specify, is not quite a ‘New’ artist. The Haitian-Canadian got her debut in the
indies in 2016 with ‘99.9%’ and followed it up in 2019 with ‘Bubba’, another
hit.

Last but not the least, probably the most-known and
most-unsurprising entrance into this year’s Young Artist category has been
Megan Thee Stallion. In 2019 she topped the Rolling Stone Top 100 chart with
‘Hot Girl Summer’ and this year followed it up with topping the Billboard
Global 200 list with WAP, in collaboration with Cardi B.

The Grammy changed its nomination process in 2020, with the
addition of 2,300 more voting memberships and bringing in changes in the
nomination process – moves Grammy stated on its website were taken to “evolve
with the musical landscape”.