“To be here, just being myself, by just being who I was born as. I’m so thankful,” Joy said
Samara Joy was named the Best New Artist at the 2023 Grammy Awards, claiming victory in a crowded field of 10 rising acts.
Joy defeated a field that included Omar Apollo, Wet Leg, Molly Tuttle, Latto, Anitta, Måneskin, DOMi & JD Beck, Tobe Nwigwe, and Muni Long.
“Thank you so much for this honor, thank you to everyone who has listened to me, who supported me,” Joy said in her speech. She added of her fellow nominees: “All of you are so inspiring because of who you are. You express yourself with exactly who you are authentically. So to be here, just being myself, by just being who I was born as. I’m so thankful.”
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Born and raised in the Bronx, New York, jazz singer Samara Joy’s 2022 album Linger Awhile won Best Jazz Vocal Album at the pre-Grammy Awards ceremony. With the win, Joy becomes the first jazz singer to win Best New Artist since Esperanza Spalding in 2011.
Joy joins recent Best New Artist winners Olivia Rodrigo — who presented the award — Megan Thee Stallion, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, and Chance the Rapper. Other previous winners include Sam Smith, Adele, Amy Winehouse, Maroon 5, Alicia Keys, Lauryn Hill, Mariah Carey, and Carrie Underwood.
