Where Are They Now: Grammy Winners for Best New Artist

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Sheena Easton, Best New Artist, 1982

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Sheena Easton, Now

Pop quiz: whose songs do you know better, Sheena Easton’s or The Go-Go’s? That’s what we thought. Maybe it really is better not to win this award! But Sheena has been making music ever since. Her biggest hits were “9 to 5 (Morning Train),” which came out two whole years before she won Best New Artist, and “U Got the Look,” which is actually a Prince song.

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Cyndi Lauper, Best New Artist, 1985

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Cyndi Lauper, Now

It’s hard to believe, but this is the only Grammy Cyndi Lauper has won, in 15 nominations. She will always be known for “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” but she is still busy making new music even today. She has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide and was recently seen as one of the contestants on Celebrity Apprentice.

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Sade, Best New Artist, 1986

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Sade, Now

Sade is the original “Smooth Operator,” but believe it or not, that’s not her only song. She has been releasing music pretty steadily since the 1980s, including her “comeback” album Soldiers of Love in 2010, which scored her another Grammy award.

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Milli Vanilli, Best New Artist, 1990

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Milli Vanilli, Now

Girl, you know it’s true: Milli Vanilli, made up of Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan, were not the real deal. The famous lip-synchers won the award in 1990 but were forced to give it back when they were exposed. Rob passed away in 1998, but Fab is still trying to get a solo career going, with an album in 2003 and new songs in 2011. There’s even a movie in the works about the duo.

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Sheryl Crow, Best New Artist, 1995

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Sheryl Crow, Now

Who is this Sheryl Crow, and how did she manage to win this award over Ace of Base and the Crash Test Dummies? We kid, we kid. Sheryl Crow has won eight more Grammys, has sold 35 million albums worldwide, has survived breast cancer and dating Lance Armstrong, and has tried her hand at acting (most recently on Cougar Town and 30 Rock), all while raising two children on her own! Next up for Crow: She’s writing a Broadway musical based on the movie Diner.

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Hootie & the Blowfish, Best New Artist, 1996

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Hootie & the Blowfish, Now

In the mid-1990s, what was bigger than Hootie & the Blowfish? Let’s face it: We all had Cracked Rear View. (It was the best-selling album in 1995 and has now sold more than 16 million copies.) So maybe at the time it was a no-brainer to give them the award for Best New Artist over Shania Twain and Alanis Morissette, but they have never quite lived up to that success. Today they’re still making music and touring, and frontman Darius Rucker has also embarked on a solo country career, which has spawned five number-one singles. A couple of the other guys (the Blowfish?) also tried to go solo, but to less fanfare.

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Christina Aguilera, Best New Artist, 2000

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Christina Aguilera, Now

Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears are always being pit against each other, but at the Grammys, Xtina has always ruled supreme. She has a total of four, including the Best New Artist she won against Britney. Brit-Brit only has one. Today, of course, Christina can be seen as our favorite (or at least the most ridiculous) judge on The Voice.

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Shelby Lynne, Best New Artist, 2001

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Shelby Lynne, Now

Our favorite Best New Artist win has to go to Shelby Lynne, who won in 2001 despite albums that date back to 1988. And she basically said as much when she accepted the award: “It took 13 years and six albums to get here.” In the 10 years that followed, she managed to release another seven albums and has also turned to acting, as Johnny Cash’s mother in Walk the Line and as a country singer (natch) on Army Wives.

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Norah Jones, Best New Artist, 2003

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Norah Jones, Now

In 2003, Norah Jones had some stiff competition (for once) in the category, but she bested Ashanti, Michelle Branch, Avril Lavigne, and John Mayer, earning a total of five Grammys for her album Come Away with Me. Since then she has released three more albums (and has another on the way in 2012) and has sold almost 50 million albums worldwide. So we’ll say she deserved the award.

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Esperanza Spalding, Best New Artist, 2011

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Esperanza Spalding, Now

In 2011, when Esperanza Spalding stole the Best New Artist trophy out of the hands of Justin Bieber, we thought there would be an all-out riot (at least on Twitter), but things have settled down for the jazz artist. After she won the award, her album reentered the Billboard charts, and she has new music coming out in March 2012.