Despite winning Best New Artist honors at the 2018 BET Hip Hop Awards and 2018 American Music Awards, XXXTENTACION is ineligible for Best New Artist at the 2019 Grammy Awards.
According to Hits Daily Double, because X’s debut album 17 was released last August, he missed the 2019 eligibility year by five weeks. Had his album arrived earlier, X would have been the first artist to be nominated in the Best New Artist category posthumously.
X, of course, was fatally shot in June after leaving RIVA Motorsports in Deerfield Beach, Florida.
A total of 332 artists are entered for Best New Artist this year, the lowest total in at least five years. A total of 374 artists vied for the award last year, while the tally was 376 two years ago.
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The lineup of eligible rappers and singers for Best New Artist includes Juice Wrld, Lil Baby, Lil Pump, Lil Skies, Lil Peep, H.E.R., Jordan Smith, Margo Price, Dhani Harrison, Greta Van Fleet and Ella Mai, among others
Another notable change for the 61st Annual Grammy Awards is Post Malone’s beerbongs and bentleys move from the Hip Hop/Rap category to the Pop category.
A source told the Associated Press the Grammy committee decided the project veered more into pop territory than rap. Cardi B and Posty are both ineligible for Best New Hip Hop Artist as well.
The 2019 Grammy Awards ceremony is scheduled for February 10, 2019 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
