The Billboard Music Awards are music awards presented annually in the United States, Los Angeles. A lot of artists go to collect their awards from the different categories. One of the most important is the Top New Artist.

The awards have been held since 1990, with some interruptions in 2007 and 2010 until this latest edition in 2023. They are awarded by Billboard magazine based on sales data, radio airplay, streaming platforms, social media interactions, and other popularity metrics.

The ceremony is an important event in the music industry. Top artists come together to celebrate the year’s achievements and perform live. The popularity of the awards has grown over the years to become a significant landmark in the international music scene.

Winners are selected in various categories, including albums, songs, artists, and specific genres. The most important are Top Artist, Top New Artist, Top Collaboration, Top Female Artist, or Top Male Artist among others.

The most famous artists are often mentioned, as was the case for this year’s edition, which took place on 19 November. In the Billboard Music Awards 2023, the most outstanding artists were Taylor Swift, the most nominated artist with 20 nominations, Morgan Wallen with 17, and Maria Carey who performed All I Want For Christmas Is You, her most famous song.

Top New Artist and Winner

In the Top New Artist category, the nominees were Bailey Zimmerman, Zach Bryan, Ice Spice, Jelly Roll, and Peso Pluma. Among them, the winner was Zach Bryan, making him the first country artist to win this award in the history of the Billboard Music Awards. He not only won in that category but also in Top Rock Artist, Top Rock Album with “American Heartbreak” and Top Rock Song Something in the Orange.

Artists you have to discover

1. Bailey Zimmerman

He is a country music artist from Illinois who started releasing original music on his TikTok account in 2020. His nomination in the Top New Artist category is due to his remarkable success and impact on the music scene. His single Fall in Love entered the Billboard Hot 100, followed by “Rock and a Hard Place”, another of his most famous singles.

2. Ice Spice

She was the only woman nominated in the category. She hails from the Bronx, one of the worst neighborhoods in Manhattan, and has three top 10 singles to her name in 2023, including collaborations with Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj. Her first EP, Like…?, got great reviews, and she won Best New Artist at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2023. Undoubtedly an artist who is showing a lot of talent in the music industry.

3. Jason Bradley DeFord

Or as he is known, Jeffy Roll, is a rapper and country singer who has broken records on the Billboard Emerging Artist chart, spending 25 weeks at No. 1. Need a Favor, a country rock song, is one of his most famous singles that has also made the Billboard charts.

4. Peso Pluma

The youngest Mexican singer in the category, has earned 6 nominations at the Billboard Music Awards 2023. His collaboration with Eslabón Armado, Ella Baila Sola, won one of the nominations, Top Latin Song. He is currently positioned as one of the leaders in the Latin music industry and much is expected of him.

Text: Estela González Martínez
Photo: Cosmopolitan UK (CC BY 3.0)
Katrina Paisano, taken on 23 August 2023 at Crypto.com Arena via Wikimedia
U.S. Army photo by Spc. Robert Vicens, Public domain