Is Lizzo the Best New Artist? Stats Say Yes

The 62nd “Best New Artist” Grammy category features eight exciting names. As far as predictions go, Billie Eilish and Lizzo are the strongest contenders, nominated for six and eight Grammys, respectively. Looking at their social media data, it’s close tie, but the stats favor Lizzo.

Sara Mekinc

Jan 22, 2020

Interested in the artists’ social media stats throughout 2019, our editorial team had already examined the data, calculated each artist’s impact in terms of their popularity growth, and put it all together in a series of articles (see below). Looking at the numbers, it’s obvious that each nominee has grown in popularity considerably, but Billie Eilish and Lizzo stand head and shoulders above the rest with impressive growth. Lizzo drastically increased her Twitter, Spotify, and Instagram following (it's now 20 times larger than at the beginning of 2019), while Bille Eilish bested her on Spotify by growing her following to almost 18M.

As a certain spandex-clad teen would put it: “Holy engagements, Batman!”

Still, neither of them was a match for Rosalía on YouTube, who scored as many as 200M+ monthly engagements. Her popularity is undeniable not only in Latin-speaking countries (especially thanks to the smash hit “Con Altura”, which has already been viewed over 1B times), but also worldwide, as she was the most booked artist of the 2019 festival season. With the “Best New Artist” nomination, Rosalía is also the first ever Spanish-language recording artist to break into the Grammy general categories.

Quick facts:

> “When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” made Eilish the first artist born in the 2000s to have a #1 album in the US.
> A member of Black Pumas already has a Grammy. As a member of Grupo Fantasma, Adrian Quesada won the “Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album” Grammy in 2011.
> Lil Nas X broke Drake’s record for the most US streams in one week. In April, he reached 143M streams.
> Lizzo is the most nominated artist this year, and was named Time’s Entertainer of the Year in December.
> Maggie Rogers has already played major festivals such as Coachella and Lollapalooza, and has opened for Kacey Musgraves and Mumford and Sons.
> Among many other accolades, Rosalía recently won five Latin Grammy Awards.
> Tank and the Bangas have been performing since 2011, and already have several awards. Most notably, they won the 2017 NPR Tiny Desk Contest.
> In her debut year, Yola became one of the UK performers with the most nominations, tied at four with Thom Yorke.

Media might call some of the nominees the underdogs, but their popularity proves otherwise.

So: Billie or Lizzo?

Considering both the stats and the industry speculation, it’s obviously a very close choice between the two women. Both have been sweeping awards ceremonies in recent months, with Billie Eilish ushering in the era of independent teenage hitmakers while walking the fine edge between alternative and mainstream, and Lizzo loudly championing self-love, LGBTQ+ rights, and perseverance in pursuing wild dreams. While Billie’s cultural impact is immense, stats insights suggest 2019 was Lizzo’s year.

Photos courtesy of artists:
Billie Eilish by Apple Music Awards; Black Pumas by Lyza Renee; Lil Nas X by Apple Music Awards; Lizzo by Apple Music Awards; Maggie Rogers by Olivia Bee, Rosalía by Greg Noire for Lollapalooza 2019, Tank and the Bangas by Gus Bennett, Yola by Alysse Gafkjen

Read this next:

Facts for the Soul: 6 Things to Know About Tank and the Bangas and Black Pumas

From Past Life to Shady Grove: 5 Things Yola and Maggie Rogers Have in Common

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