Zara Larsson Ruled Out of Grammy Best New Artist Race After 2026 Nomination
Zara Larsson cannot be submitted for Best New Artist at the 2027 Grammy Awards, because she was already nominated as a performer at the 2026 ceremony. The rule is straightforward: the Recording Academy requires that a Best New Artist contender must not have received a prior nomination as a performer, solo or as part of a group. Rolling Stone
Larsson's 2026 nomination came for the title track of Midnight Sun, her fifth studio album, released in September 2025, in the Best Dance Pop Recording category. The field included Selena Gomez, PinkPantheress, Tate McRae, and Lady Gaga, who won for 'Abracadabra'. Both 'Midnight Sun' and 'Stateside', Larsson's collaboration with PinkPantheress, reached the Billboard Hot 100 in January 2026 — the chart that tracks the most-played songs across US radio, streaming and sales. Rolling Stone
The timing lands inside the 2027 Best New Artist eligibility window, which runs from 31 August 2025 to 28 August 2026. But the prior-nomination bar blocks her regardless of when the album or singles appeared. Larsson has one career Grammy nomination and zero wins, according to her official Grammy artist page. Grammy.com
The Best New Artist category has been steadily loosened over the past several years. The Recording Academy removed a cap on the number of releases an artist could have put out and still qualify, a change announced ahead of the 63rd Grammy Awards in 2021. In June 2026, the Academy raised the maximum number of times an artist can be submitted for the category from three to four. None of that helps Larsson: the barrier in her case is not how many albums she has released or how many times she has been submitted, but the fact that she was nominated as a performer. Grammy.com; Rolling Stone
Larsson's own view of the category is pointed. She told Perfect Magazine that her former label, Epic Records, wanted to submit her for Best New Artist, and that she pushed back immediately, saying it would downplay her 13 years as a recording artist. She reiterated the rejection in an Instagram post on 27 August 2026. Larsson said she prefers the word 'breakthrough' to describe where she is now. Rolling Stone
In July, Larsson signed a new deal with RCA Records, ending a relationship with Epic that had lasted more than a decade. The label split means her upcoming releases will go through RCA, a Sony Music imprint, rather than Epic, which sits under the same corporate parent. Rolling Stone
For Larsson, the eligibility question is closed either way. The rulebook and her own feelings point in the same direction: she is not a new artist, and the Grammys agree.
