This year’s best new artist class took to the stage for Spotify‘s annual Best New Artist Grammy party on Thursday night, giving one of Grammy Week’s most distinct parties a triumphant 2026 return after the show was canceled last year following the devastating Eaton and Palisades wildfires.
All eight BNA acts showed out this year, with Leon Thomas, Lola Young, The Marias, Alex Warren, KATSEYE, Sombr, Addison Rae and Olivia Dean all getting around three or four songs, playing before an intimate crowd of about 1,500 industry executives, artists and other creators.
Among those spotted Thursday were Yungblud, Lewis Capaldi, Pusha T and 2025 best new artist nominees Benson Boone and Shaboozey. Also in attendance Thursday was KJ Apa in his Mr. Fantasy alter ego, who got a shoutout from Alex Warren during Warren’s set.
Thomas, the lone BNA nominee with other nominations in the general categories this year as his breakout album Mutt is up for album of the year, kicked off the show just past 8 p.m., ending a three-song set with his album’s eponymous hit.
Lola Young took the stage next for a more intimate performance, joined only by a piano player and acoustic guitarist, with six floor lamps in the background on stage. Thursday marked the budding star’s first public performance since she collapsed on stage last September at All Things Go in New York, something she acknowledged during the performance.
“I’m back and feeling better,” she told the crowd. While most of the acts played their biggest hits for the crowd, Young decided not to play “Messy” on Thursday, instead finishing a four-song set with “Post Sex Clarity.”
Whereas 2024’s show featured several collaborations — Jelly Roll brought out Lainey Wilson and Noah Kahan played with Gracie Abrams — this year’s class kept the stages for themselves.
The Marias and Alex Warren, both signed to Atlantic Records, followed Young, with Warren showcasing his song of the summer contender “Ordinary,” while the Maria Zardoya-fronted dream pop band played “No One Noticed.”
KATSEYE ran through “Gabriela,” “M.I.A.” and Gnarly, showing off vintage girl group flare with perfectly in-synch choreography.
Sombr — who joked that he couldn’t get into the party last year — earned the superlative for most raucous set Thursday, with his set about twice as loud as the rest of his peers as he played several hits including his I Barely Know Her streaming monsters “12 to 12” and “Back to Friends.”
Addison Rae was the penultimate act, taking the stage all in white and dressing down to just a bra and skirt as she played “Fame is a Gun” and “Diet Pepsi.” “It’s cold up here, we’ve got fans, but I’m still going to take this off anyway,” she joked.
Olivia Dean, who’s currently enjoying the biggest hot streak of the class with a fast-selling arena tour on the way finished off the night, showing off viral hits “So Easy to Fall in Love” and “Man I Need,” sending the crowd home for an action-packed Grammy weekend ahead.
With Spotify in the rearview, there’s still several marquee Grammy parties ahead, including the annual MusiCares Person of the Year Gala on Friday, which will honor Mariah Carey, as well as the Clive Davis Pre-Grammy Gala on Saturday at the Beverly Hilton.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.hollywoodreporter.com ’
