Lady Gaga’s exclusion from the Best New Artist category at February’s 52nd Annual Grammy Awards has prompted the Recording Academy to make some changes to the eligibility requirements for future ceremonies.
A rule change announced on Wednesday allows previous Grammy nominees to be eligible, as long as the artist hasn’t released an entire album and doesn’t win.
Although the platinum-selling act was one of the best-selling artists of 2009, she was ineligible for a Best New Artist nomination because her breakout single “Just Dance” received a nod in 2008. At the time, previous Grammy nominees were not permitted to receive Best New Artist nominations.
“More and more, the first release of a new artist is as a featured artist on someone else’s album or the new artist may release a single long before the release of his/her/their entire first album,” the Academy said in a statement this morning. “By current rules, if the other artist’s album or the new artist’s single receives a nomination, the new artist may never have the opportunity to compete in the best new artist category. With this change, each artist will have at least one opportunity to enter in this important and highly visible category.”
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