LOS ANGELES (AP) — Leon Thomas and Olivia Dean brought soul, global girl group Katseye and Addison Rae performed electric pop and Lola Young made a triumphant return to the stage.
Those acts, alongside The Marías, sombr and Alex Warren, make up the 2026 Grammys’ best new artist nominees and were the headliners of Spotify’s annual pre-Grammy party Thursday night in Los Angeles.
The event at the Lot at Formosa in West Hollywood spotlighted up-and-coming talent across genres and backgrounds. Each act ran through three to four songs, introducing themselves to an audience of new listeners and dedicated fans in seemingly equal measure.
To hasten the transitions, the stage rotated to reveal another backline, leaving the audience to guess who would emerge next.
First up was Thomas. It was sensuality and swagger from the jump as he worked through three of his hits, ending with the ubiquitous “Mutt.” Consider it an amuse-bouche of tracks from an artist Ty Dolla $ign previously described to The Associated Press as the future of R&B.
“I love y’all so much,” Thomas told the crowd as he began to leave. And then, a reminder: “My name is Leon Thomas.”
When the stage turned a few minutes after, a trepidatious Lola Young was standing in front of a set of chintzy, fringe lamps like those found in a vintage living room. It gave her four-song set a feeling of intimacy, which was amplified by the performance being her first since Sept. 27, when she fainted on stage at the All Things Go Festival in New York.
“I’m back and feeling better,” she told the crowd. “Thank you to everybody here.”
Her vocal delivery was fierce and full-throated, though she opted not to perform “Messy,” the single that launched her career into the mainstream.
“Take care of yourselves,” she said as she exited the stage, a simple message with layered meaning.
The rest of the performances arrived fast and furious. The Marías brought their Mazzy Star-indebted, bilingual dream pop. They were followed by “Ordinary” singer Alex Warren’s anthemic radio pop.
Everything became “gnarly” from there as Katseye commanded the room as if it were their own stadium. Where other acts opted for complex sets, they stripped the stage bare. Instead, their hyperactive pop and athletic choreography filled space.
Sombr’s pop-rock pulled from a mélange of nostalgic genres for the TikTok generation.
“I couldn’t get into this party last year,” he joked from the stage.
In the end, there were two: Addison Rae and Olivia Dean. Rae brought her sensual, hypnotic pop in a medley of “In the Rain,” “High Fashion” and “Diet Pepsi.” She described the latter song as starting “so much for me.”
Dean, an old soul with a timeless voice, was a fitting closer.
The pair further confirmed what was already evident in this year’s best new artist class: an inventive vision and a diversity of sound can take you far.
The 68th Grammy Awards will be held Feb. 1 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The show will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+. For more coverage of this year’s Grammy Awards visit: www.apnews.com/hub/grammy-awards
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