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Zara Larsson Shuts Down Push for a Grammy Category She Doesn't Even Want
After 13 years in the business, the Swedish pop star says being nominated for Best New Artist would erase everything that came before her breakout album "Midnight Sun."
Zara Larsson just had the biggest mainstream breakthrough of her career with her fifth studio album, "Midnight Sun" — and she wants no part of the Grammy category that title usually invites.
According to Rolling Stone's reporting, Larsson's team had reportedly considered submitting her for Best New Artist at the Grammys as "Midnight Sun" built momentum since its release last September. Larsson herself killed the idea. "I don't even want that," she said, explaining that being lumped in with first-year artists would downplay 13 years she's already spent making music.
"It never felt like one song"
Larsson told outlets she prefers the word "breakthrough" to describe this moment in her career rather than a debut. She noted that while she'd had big individual hits before "Midnight Sun," this is the first time "it never felt like one song was building up to something bigger" — pointing to a body of work finally clicking as a whole rather than a single breakout single, according to E! News' account of her comments.
"I DON'T EVEN WANT THAT" — ZARA LARSSON, ON BEING CONSIDERED FOR BEST NEW ARTIST
There's also a technical wrinkle underlying the whole debate: Larsson likely isn't eligible for Best New Artist anyway. The title track "Midnight Sun" has already picked up a nomination for Best Dance/Pop Recording at the 2026 Grammy Awards, according to IBTimes UK, and Recording Academy eligibility rules generally bar artists with substantial prior chart history or prior nominations from competing in the newcomer category regardless of label preference.
The episode has drawn a mostly sympathetic reaction from fans and critics, who noted that Best New Artist pushes for established acts with a fresh commercial peak — sometimes derided as "buzzy veteran" campaigns — have become a recurring, and recurringly awkward, Grammy-season ritual across the industry.
Larsson, who broke through internationally in the mid-2010s with hits like "Lush Life" and "Ain't My Fault," has spent the past year touring behind "Midnight Sun" and racking up her most significant U.S. chart success to date. It's not yet clear which categories the Recording Academy will ultimately slot her into for the 2027 ceremony, but Best New Artist, at her own insistence, won't be one of them.