Editor's Note: The 2022 GRAMMYs Awards show, officially known as the 64th GRAMMY Awards, <a href="https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/2022-grammys-awards-64th-new-air-show-date-location-las-vegas-april-3-announcement "https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/2022-grammys-awards-64th-new-air-show-date-location-las-vegas-april-3-announcement"">has been rescheduled to Sunday, April 3, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The below article was updated on Tuesday, Jan. 18, to reflect the new show date and location.

The Best New Artist category has been female-dominated in recent years. Five of the past six winners have been women, from Meghan Trainor to Megan Thee Stallion. This year's 10 nominees are even split with men and women, making the race particularly interesting.

There's also a handful of more experienced acts, like indie-rock group Glass Animals, who saw their first hit in 2014. That's not all that unusual, though, as the BNA award honors artists who achieved a breakthrough and notably impacted the musical landscape — and this year's roster have done just that.

The 2022 GRAMMYs Awards will see two teen phenoms, Olivia Rodrigo and The Kid LAROI, go head-to-head. They face off with one of country music's biggest breakouts (Jimmie Allen), rap's sample queen (Saweetie), Kendrick Lamar's protégé (Baby Keem), a U.K. standout (Arlo Parks), an alternative star (Japanese Breakfast), Pakistan's first female nominee (Arooj Aftab), and an eight-time GRAMMY winner (FINNEAS).

No matter who you're rooting for, GRAMMY.com has your guide to this year's Best New Artist nominees. Learn more about the latest crop of rising stars here.

Nominations for the 2022 GRAMMYs Awards show are officially here! See the full list of nominations.\

Arooj Aftab

A singer, composer, and producer hailing from Lahore, Pakistan, Arooj Aftab has been working hard to get her music heard since the early 2000s.

She was one of the first Pakistani musicians to implement the internet to promote her music in her home country, helping pave the way for the Pakistani indie scene with her viral songs, "Hallelujah" and "Mera Pyaar." Aftab makes history with her Best New Artist nomination, as she's the first female Pakistani nominee.

Now three albums in, Aftab's music has continued to captivate fans and critics alike, delivering poetic lyrics with her silky voice and a sound that blends new-age and classical minimalism.

This year's Vulture Prince spawned her biggest streaming hit to date, "Mohabbat," which landed on Barack Obama's 2021 Summer Playlist.

Jimmie Allen

The only country artist in this year's Best New Artist category, Jimmie Allen instantly made an impact in the genre with his heartfelt 2018 debut "Best Shot."

Starting off his career with back-to-back No. 1 singles on country radio (his belt-worthy love song "Make Me Want To" reached the top in 2019), Allen has continued to make strides, becoming the first Black artist to win New Male Artist of the Year at this year's Academy of Country Music Awards.

The Milton, Delaware native's 2020 EP, Bettie James — as well as a deluxe "Gold Edition" he released earlier this year — showed off his versatility, bringing his country flair to collaborations with pop acts like Noah Cyrus ("This Is Us"), R&B stars Babyface ("Forever") and Monica ("Pray"), and Latin hitmaker Pitbull ("Flavor").

His talent is being noticed by superstars, too: in what the singer-songwriter calls an "ultimate dream" career moment, Allen was recently featured on Elton John's Lockdown Sessions on the track "Beauty In The Bones."

Read More: 5 Black Artists Rewriting Country Music: Mickey Guyton, Kane Brown, Jimmie Allen, Brittney Spencer & Willie Jone

Baby Keem

Two years after Baby Keem first gained recognition with his impactful debut "Orange Soda," the California rapper had the year of his life in 2021.

 The 21-year-old collaborated with Travis Scott, Kanye West, and his cousin, Kendrick Lamar, the latter of whom teamed with Keem on the fittingly titled track "Family Ties." (The two first worked together on an interlude for the Kendrick-curated Black Panther soundtrack in 2018, and Keem is the first artist on Lamar's company with Dave Free, pgLang.)

"Family Ties" is the latest single from Keem's debut album, The Melodic Blue, which hit No. 5 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart. Keem has been touted for pushing boundaries in the rap/hip-hop sphere the way that Lamar has throughout his career.

"I don't want to do anything the common way," he told Lamar in an interview they did together for i-D magazine in 2020. "I want to reflect my feelings more in the music, with the chords that I love, because but I don't have too many songs with chords that I actually love and feel. I feel the s<em></em><em> I've been experimenting with now can tell a story on its own… I think everybody knows now that I'm on some completely different s</em><em></em>."

FINNEAS

Billie Eilish fans know this name well: FINNEAS is not only her older brother, but the mastermind producer behind all of the teen phenom's music.

After scooping up eight GRAMMYs for his work on Eilish's music — including Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Record of the Year (twice), and Producer of the Year, Non-Classical — FINNEAS further wowed fans as a solo artist in his own right.

The 24-year-old delivered his cinematic debut album, Optimist, in October, writing and producing all 13 tracks on his own.

He's the only 2022 Best New Artist candidate with previous nominations (let alone wins); with this nomination, FINNEAS shares another GRAMMY honor with his sister, who won the award in 2020. 

GRAMMY Flashback: Meet The First-Time GRAMMY Nominee: FINNEAS On Billie Eilish & "Doing Production That No One's Ever Done Before"

Glass Animals

Another name that might be familiar, Glass Animals is one of the more established artists on this year's Best New Artist lineup.

The British indie-rock band have released three albums since forming in 2010, landing their first hit in 2014 with the hypnotic "Gooey." But it was their 2020 single "Heat Waves" that took the group from indie-rock stardom to mainstream success.

The song's bellowing beat drop and wavy melody made it an infectious radio hit, earning Glass Animals their first No. 1 at alternative radio and first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (where it reached the top 10).

Subsequently, their third studio album, 2020's Dreamland, became their first top 5 album in the UK, and first top 10 LP in the U.S. That breakthrough is ultimately what scored Glass Animals a Best New Artist nomination, despite their nearly decade-long catalog.

Read More: The 64th GRAMMY Awards: Everything You Need To Know About The 2022 GRAMMYs Awards Show & Nominations

Japanese Breakfast

Korean-American musician Michelle Zauner has been performing under the moniker Japanese Breakfast since 2013 (she has three permanent band members, interchangeably referred to as an indie project and an indie-rock band).

Similarly to Glass Animals, Japanese Breakfast saw their breakout in 2021 with "Be Sweet," the lead single from the act's third album, Jubilee.

Perhaps the newfound success spawned from Zauner's own personal happiness that inspired the LP — a change of pace from Japanese Breakfast's previous projects, which were a result of the pain Zauner experienced after the death of her mother.

"It was definitely a conscious choice to be like, 'OK, I've written two very dark albums and a whole book about grief, I want to write about something else,'" Zauner told GRAMMY.com ahead of Jubilee's release. "A lot of the record is about struggling or figuring out how to do that or making decisions for myself that allow me to embrace that again."

Read More: How Japanese Breakfast Found Joy On Her New Album Jubilee

The Kid LAROI

Charlton Kenneth Jeffrey Howard — better known as The Kid LAROI — first caught attention when he joined forces with the late Juice WRLD on their 2020 track "Go."

At the end of 2020, the Australian singer-rapper released his breakout breakup hit, "Without You," an acoustic ballad that received a remix with Miley Cyrus earlier this year.

But it was his collaboration with Justin Bieber, the infectiously bouncy "Stay," that really took him worldwide, amassing nearly 2 billion streams and sitting atop the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks.

At just 18 years old, The Kid LAROI's willingness to be vulnerable has connected with his generation and beyond, including superstars like Ed Sheeran and Elton John, who have both dubbed him "the biggest artist on the planet."

Arlo Parks

Though she has only been releasing music for three years, Arlo Parks (whose birth name is Anaïs Oluwatoyin Estelle Marinho) has been writing poems and turning them into songs since she was in her early teens.

The British singer-songwriter has been delivering vivid, sensitive narratives since her smooth 2018 debut "Cola," which eventually landed her a record deal with London-based indie label Transgressive Records in 2019.

In January, Parks released her debut album, Collapsed in Sunbeams, a collection of 12 songs that expanded her alt-rock sound with touches of jazz and lo-fi production.

The project earned her the annual Mercury Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in the U.K. music industry honoring the album of the year.

Read More: Arlo Parks Talks Debut Album Collapsed In Sunbeams, Winning Over Billie Eilish & Phoebe Bridgers

Olivia Rodrigo

This year took Olivia Rodrigo from Disney star to global phenomenon thanks to her smash debut, the belt-worthy, piano-driven power ballad "drivers license."

The instantly ubiquitous song, which Rodrigo had teased on social media in 2020, broke two Spotify records and made the singer-songwriter the youngest artist to ever debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100, where it sat for a record-setting eight consecutive weeks.

But that was just the beginning for Rodrigo, who has already released five singles from her critically acclaimed album, Sour – including another No. 1 with the feisty Paramore-nicking "good 4 u," notching Rodrigo another record as the first album to contain two No. 1 debuts.

At just 18 years old, Rodrigo has displayed the lyrical prowess of a seasoned veteran who has been touted by Cardi B and Rodrigo's personal hero, Taylor Swift.

If she wins, she'd be the third-youngest winner after LeAnn Rimes, who was 14 when she won in 1997, and Billie Eilish, who was 17 upon winning in 2019.

Saweetie

After establishing herself as a viral star on social media in 2017, Saweetie first broke onto the rap scene with the confident single "My Type" in 2019.

The California rapper born Diamonté Harper has had two other singles take off, the most recent being her biggest hit to date, the club-ready Doja Cat collab "Best Friend." Several of her songs masterfully sample past hits, including Petey Pablo's "Freek-A-Leek" on "My Type."

She's proving to be a businesswoman, too: in addition to launching her own record label (Icy Records) in 2018, Saweetie has partnered with several brands, including PrettyLittleThing for a clothing and jewelry collection and McDonalds for its Famous Orders series.

With her anticipated debut album, Pretty B<em></em><em></em> Music, set for release in 2022, Saweetie hasn't shown any signs of slowing down.

2022 GRAMMYs Awards Show: Complete Nominations List​

In the past year, artists in the LGBTQIA+ community have continued to create change and make history — specifically, GRAMMY history. Last November, Liniker became the first trans artist to win a Latin GRAMMY Award when she took home Best MPB Album for Indigo Borboleta Anil; three months later, Sam Smith and Kim Petras became the first nonbinary and trans artists, respectively, to win the GRAMMY Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for their sinful collab "Unholy."

Just those two feats alone prove that the LGBTQIA+ community is making more and more of an impact every year. So this Pride Month, GRAMMY.com celebrates those strides with a playlist of hits and timeless classics that are driving conversations around equality and fairness for the LGBTQIA+ community.

Below, take a listen to 50 songs by artists across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum — including "Unholy" and Liniker's "Baby 95" — on Amazon Music, Spotify, Apple Music, and Pandora.

A line from Joanna Hogg’s 2019 drama The Souvenir has threaded itself through Arlo Parks’ consciousness: "We don't want to just see life played out as is. We want to see life as it is experienced, within this soft machine."

The phrase was so resonant that it inspired the title of Parks' second studio album: My Soft Machine. "That’s exactly what this record is to me — the world through my eyes, through the prism of my brain, how what I feel passes through my skin and body," she told GRAMMY.com.

Though she’s intent on practicing patience, the British alternative artist has never been one to fall into passivity. A poet at heart, Parks beads delicate details like strings of jewels — first on her pair of promising 2019 EPs, and then with her acclaimed debut, 2021's Collapsed in Sunbeams. The lustrous album shone like treasure, earning GRAMMY nominations for Best New Artist and Best Alternative Album in 2022.

Praised for its candor and discussions of mental health, Collapsed in Sunbeams proved that Parks knows how to put memories to music in a way that catches the light. My Soft Machine continues this reflective pattern: it’s a kaleidoscope into Parks’ soul, laced with serendipity, solace, and color. The album title evokes an unusual polarity of both gentleness and automation, yet the record is anything but mechanical. Out May 26, My Soft Machine tingles with earnesty and warmth to the point of ache, bearing its honesty like a handwritten letter to a loved one.

Considering the album’s often weighty subject matter, it might come as a surprise that Parks describes its loose creative process as filled with more "silliness" than ever before. But the easy-fitting, experimental side of the record mirrors Parks’ approach to life and music: she has a gift for finding optimism in darkness.

Parks got introspective, sharing with GRAMMY.com how travel and self-care positively manifest in her life — and how My Soft Machine filled her with a sense of purpose.

What headspace were you in when you were working on My Soft Machine? How did your approach compare with making Collapsed in Sunbeams?

I was in an emotionally heightened headspace. I had a lot I needed to put down, untangle and understand about myself. I needed to really examine what I was carrying with me through the world.

The approach was a lot more collaborative and loose than Collapsed in Sunbeams. There was a lot of jamming, of bringing in singular players like David Longstreth, of changing my mind and sculpting songs over months. There was a lot more silliness and an experimental quality to the whole My Soft Machine making process.

What did you learn about yourself while working on My Soft Machine?

I learnt that writing and music are truly at the core of who I am — when I have a day off I’m driving and listening to NTS (Radio) or I’m sitting down and brainstorming a script or a novel — what I do is truly who I am. I think I also learnt that I’m quite an intuitive, impatient creator. It really served me to have patience and wait for the songs to reveal themselves.

You use mentions of color so beautifully and precisely throughout your music. What colors or aesthetics do you associate with My Soft Machine versus Collapsed in Sunbeams? If you had to make a moodboard for My Soft Machine, what would it look like?

It would have a lot of moody purples, inky night sky blues, the green of ferns, the fuchsia of bougainvillea in spring in Silverlake. There would be the dancing scene from "Happy Together" by Wong Kar Wai, the image "Broadway (Joy)" from 2001 by Justine Kurland, the skate bowl in Paranoid Park, my lover’s eyes in dusk light, the smell of trodden down roses, and the sting of road rash when you fall off a bike as a kid.

I was struck by My Soft Machine’s experimental, outgoing production, especially in "Devotion." What inspired this album’s sounds? What sort of textures do you look for in tracks?

The palette was quite simply "songs and sounds that I’ve always loved" — everything from "Last Splash" by the Breeders to the Dijon record to "Come On You Slags" by Aphex Twin to BLACK METAL by Dean Blunt to "I Bet on Losing Dogs" by Mitski. I think I’m drawn to crunchy textures, textures that make me shiver or put my hand over my heart because I’m reeling, textures that serve the story.

Performance artist Marina Abramović said great art is disturbing, and in a past interview, you equated this disturbance with change. How has working on My Soft Machine helped you view your life or the world in a different way?

I think it filled me with a sense of purpose; I felt so driven and rooted and settled in my own identity. It made me believe in serendipity, in the fact that imagination really is magic and that the ability to put difficult, nebulous words into something concrete is the biggest blessing I will ever receive.

What was it like working with Phoebe Bridgers for "Pegasus"? What do you look for in collaborators?

Phoebe is such a generous soul. She creates for the love of it, she’s so intelligent and funny and kind. I think I just look for kind people who understand me and why I do what I do.

What’s your ideal environment for creative work? How does travel impact your creativity, and what places are your favorite to revisit?

I love to work in a home — dogs running around, tape machines and obscure percussion instruments, tea, and someone’s sweater left on the couch. It has to feel lived in and warm.

Travel definitely opens me up; returning to somewhere like Tokyo or New York or New Zealand just makes me excited about the world and creative possibility. I just love to talk to people and understand their rituals and their musical subcultures. Traveling makes me more empathetic.

How do you feel you’ve changed since releasing Collapsed in Sunbeams? What have you learned that you wish your younger self had known?

I’ve become more assertive and more trusting in the ebb and flow of my ability to make cool things. I’ve learnt to really treasure time spent in water, with friends, having little dinner parties and watching silly shows. I wish my younger self would have known that dreams do come true but that to whom much is given, much will be expected.

You’ve been very open about how touring has impacted your mental health. How have you learned to prioritize self care? After your Instagram announcement, what was it like seeing other musicians reach out and share words of support?

I’ve learned to prioritize self care by really listening to myself, understanding where I feel most calm and carving out more time to do it. Setting aside time to camp or to go to the Korean Spa or brush burs out of my dogs fur or hang out with my girlfriend.

I felt so held when other people reached out saying "hey I feel the same" — I didn’t know what to expect and I got nothing but kindness.

10 Artists Who Are Outspoken About Mental Health: Billie Eilish, Selena Gomez, Shawn Mendes & More

While K-pop is Asia’s most dominant musical export today, the continent has a rich rock heritage that has traveled much further than you may imagine. Indeed, while the genre is the result of a cultural interplay between Africa and America (with fruitful trips to the UK), its history encompasses numerous important names whose roots trace to Japan, Korea, the Philippines and beyond. 

Who can forget the impact Yoko Ono had on John Lennon and his post-Beatles career, for example? And then there's the unsung heroes: the Californian restaurant owner who played a vital part in the rise of punk and the little-known '60s singer who single-handedly brought the sounds of the West to Vietnam. 

With the likes of Mitski, Japanese Breakfast and Jay Som now steering a new revolution in rock, what better time to take an in-depth look at the guitar heroes of Asian descent who have made a significant impact on Western soil? 

The Beginnings 

While first- and second-generation Asian artists had previously enjoyed crossover success in the fields of jazz (Toshiko Akiyoshi), doo-wop (the Kim Sisters) and teen pop (Eden Kane) in the first half of the 20th century, the burgeoning rock 'n' roll scene remained out of reach. That is, until a band of Filipino American brothers paid tribute to the post-war era's version of Tony Manero. 

The Rocky Fellers reached No. 16 on the Hot 100 in 1963 with "Killer Joe," named in honor of "King of the Discotheque" Killer Joe Piro, and later worked with Neil Diamond on the song "We Got Love." But their sole album on Scepter Records got lost as attention switched to the first British Invasion, and it would be another seven years before a predominantly Asian rock act graced the U.S. singles charts. 

Formed by sisters Jean and June Millington nearly a decade after their family moved to Sacramento, California from the Philippines, four-piece Fanny also broke barriers. As the first all-female outfit to land a major label deal, they paved the way for the Runaways, the Bangles and the Go-Gos (Fanny  drummer Alice de Buhr would later serve as theGo-Gos' publicist).   

Reprise Records reportedly signed Fanny without hearing any of their music — presuming the novelty of four women playing their own instruments was enough of a selling point. The original quartet proved they were far from a mere gimmick, though, with four albums of anthemic rock which inspired David Bowie to hail them as one of the genre's true unsung heroes. Incidentally, the Thin White Duke was the subject of Fanny's biggest hit, "Butter Boy," while Jean was briefly wed to his regular guitarist Earl Slick.  

Bowie was just as enamored with Vodka Collins — a Japanese rock supergroup fronted by native New Yorker (and future Arrows frontman Alan Merrill). The cult favorites are rumored to have inspired one of his many alter-egos, Ziggy Stardust. Sadly, a major financial dispute led to their disbanding shortly after the release of their 1973 debut, Tokyo – New York.  

That album's producer, Masatoshi Hashiba, however, would also steer a more enduring group to the fringes of the mainstream. Fronted by married couple Kazuhiko Katō and Mika Fuku, Sadistic Mika Band supported Roxy Music on their mid-1970s Siren Tour, while drummer Yukihiro Takahashi later co-founded the pioneering Kraftwerk-esque Yellow Magic Orchestra.  

Sadistic Mika Band's name was actually intended to parody the Plastic Ono Band's, the conceptual project co-founded by arguably rock's most prominent Asian crossover artist. Ono helped to push the boundaries of rock music while simultaneously paying homage to her East Asian heritage, drawing upon everything from hetai, a vocal technique hailing from the kabuki form of Japanese theater, to the ancient classical style of Gagaku.  

Released on the same day (and with a similar title) as husband John Lennon's solo debut in 1970, Ono’s debut solo album charted 176 places lower on the Billboard 200. Yet it unarguably had the bigger impact: Its uncompromising avant-garde sound credited with ushering in the birth of punk, alternative rock and no-wave (Sonic Youth, tUnE-yArDs and the Flaming Lips are just a few of the artists who have since acknowledged Ono's influence through collaboration). Ono has occasionally flirted with the mainstream — see 1981 Top 40 single "Walking on Thin Ice" — but it's her fearless experimentalism that positioned her as an icon.  

Continuing the Beatles-adjacent theme, Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar informed much of George Harrison's work, both as a member of the Fab Four and as a solo artist. The pair worked together on several albums and essentially paved the way for Live Aid with 1971's legendary The Concert for Bangladesh, a star-studded benefit show boasting performances from Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan. 

Of course, some of Asia's most culturally significant artists had to wait decades before receiving their dues. Phuong Tâm, for example, was pivotal in bringing the sounds of the West to the East in the early 1960s Saigon. During her late teenage years, she spent up to eight hours an evening performing Vietnamese compositions heavily inspired by the growing presence of American GIs. 

Tâm's music career was cut short when her army doctor husband landed a job hundreds of miles away. Remarkably, she kept this past life a secret from her own children until a film producer requested the use of her recordings, much of which had been misattributed. Two years later, a compilation assembled by daughter Hà, Magical Nights: Saigon Surf, Twist & Soul 1964-1966, finally showcased Tâm's youthful grasp of the genre to a wider audience.  

Formed by brothers David and Romeo Bustamante in San Francisco's  Mission District, the largely Filipino collective Dakila prided themselves on bringing a pan-continental flavor to the early '70s rock scene. They were the first U.S. major label signing to perform material in Tagalog and made a conscious effort to align themselves with various Asian-American causes. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Epic didn't exactly handle such an outlier with the utmost sensitivity. Not only did they instruct producers to meddle with Dakila's self-titled debut behind the group's backs, they also released first single "El Dùbi" with a patronizing spoken word instructional on how to pronounce their song titles. Luckily, the double whammy of a more faithful 50th anniversary reissue and forthcoming documentary Searchin' for My Soul is set to give the first true Asian American rock album some long overdue props.  

The Venues 

The artwork for Dakila's eponymous LP also featured a wicker chair originating from what would become an unlikely hub of the punk scene. At the time, the Mabuhay Gardens was a Filipino restaurant but within  a few years, owner Ness Aquino had joined forces with promoter and punk magazine publisher Jerry Paulsen to reinvent the struggling business as a thriving venue.

The Mab, as it would become known as, attracted some of the West Coast's rowdiest bands including Black Flag, the Nuns and the Dead Kennedys while also welcoming further afield acts such as the Damned and Sex Pistols, hosting one of the latter's final ever shows. Thanks to another sideline in stand-up comedy, the once-flailing business stayed open until 1987.  

This San Francisco joint's pivot into the world of mohawks and safety pins appeared to inspire other Asian proprietors in Southern California. In 1978, promoter Paul Greenstein and owners George and Esther Wong helped to transform Madame Wong's into a haven for West Coast punk. The Chinatown venue had  a strict policy on vandalism: Rumor has it Esther once confronted two of the Ramones about their bathroom wall graffiti while they were still performing on stage.  

Frustrated with such defacing, the Wongs decided to focus on a slightly more "civilized" genre when they opened up a second venue. Madame Wong's West helped put new wave on the Santa Monica map, giving early gigs to the likes of the Police, the Motels and the Knack. But the original remained their bread and butter, which is why a major rivalry — problematically dubbed the Wonton Wars by the local press — started when another nearby struggling eatery muscled in on their territory.  

Barry Seidel, who'd rented out the upstairs banquet hall of Cantonese immigrant Bill Hong's family restaurant Hong Kong Cafe, was much less discerning when it came to wanton destruction. When Madame Wong's prevented anyone under 21 from entering the premises, for example, Seidel made his punk nights all ages.  To placate Hong, Seidel agreed that performers would pay for any damage caused, a much-needed stipulation as  punks with a disregard for crowd capacity regularly broke  in via the roof and air conditioning ducts. 

But by the dawn of the following decade, the punk boom had given way to hardcore, a style too aggressive even for Hong Kong Cafe who called time on its musical endeavors in 1981. Madame Wong's closed its doors for good following a fire six years later, but its West branch stayed open until 1991 having added the likes of Red Hot Chili Peppers and R.E.M. to its impressive resume. Esther's standing in the community was confirmed in the wake of her 2005 death when the Los Angeles Times dubbed her the "Godmother of Punk."  

The GRAMMY Winners 

Although Larry Ramos of the New Christy Minstrels and the Association, singer/songwriter Yvonne Elliman and cellist Yo-Yo Ma had been nominated at Music's Biggest Night, it wasn't until  1992 that an act of Asian descent won a GRAMMY in a rock category.  

Born to an Indonesian mother, guitar hero Eddie Van Halen and his drummer brother Alex picked up Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal for their eponymous group's ninth LP, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. Their victory which appeared to open the floodgates. 

Just three years later, Indian American lead guitarist Kim Thayil and Japanese American bassist Hiro Yamamoto helped Soundgarden land Best Metal Performance and Best Hard Rock Performance for their album Superunknown. It was the latter category that Smashing Pumpkins, featuring Japanese American guitarist James Iha, also triumphed in at the 1997 ceremony thanks to "Bullet with Butterfly Wings." In 2002, the same award went to Linkin Park for "Crawling," a track boasting the turntablism skills of Korean American Joe Hahn. And let's not forget Tony Kanal, a child of Indian immigrants, whose basslines steered No Doubt to Best Pop Vocal Album for Rock Steady that same year. 

Remarkably, the most famous rock star of Asian descent never got the chance to make an acceptance speech. Freddie Mercury, whose parents hailed from western India, received four nominations as frontman of Queen. The band was honored with a Lifetime Achievement in 2018, 27 years after his untimely passing.  

It also took decades for another rock giant to hear their name read out. Co-founded in 1985 by Korean American bassist John Myung, prog favorites Dream Theater won Best Metal Performance for "The Alien" in 2022. Also nominated that same year for Best Alternative Music Album and Best New Artist were Japanese Breakfast, the indie-rock outfit fronted by Korean American Michelle Zauner, and one of several artists spearheading a new wave of Asian American indie rock.  

The Indie Scene 

The first wave of Asian American alternative guitar acts signed to independent labels began to blossom in 1995. It was here when the palindromic Emily's Sassy Lime released their one and only album, Desperate, Scared But Social, through Kill Rock Stars while still at school. One of the few Asian American acts to align themselves with the riot grrrl movement, the all-female trio had to write, record and perform on the odd occasion their parents allowed them a break from their studies. And although they split shortly after graduation, Yao sisters Wendy and Amy remained regulars of the DIY art scene. 

That same  year, Satomi Matsuzaki joined noise-pop experimentalists Deerhoof, another Kill Rock Stars act, in the same week she emigrated from Japan to America. Obviously not averse to throwing herself in the deep end, the bassist/singer headed out on tour with the band just a few days later, too. Having since tackled everything from tropicalia and conceptual prog rock to sheet music experiments and classical ensembles, few contemporary bands have been so brazenly audacious.  

Blonde Redhead, the similarly creative outfit co-founded by Japanese art students Maki Takahashi and Kazu Makino, also released their self-titled debut in 1995. Produced by Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley and released through his indie label Smells Like Records, one of the no-wave scene's defining records was followed by equally atmospheric excursions into shoegaze and dreampop, while a guest appearance from Ryuichi Sakamoto on her 2019 first solo effort Adult Baby cemented Makino's status as an icon of the avant-garde. 

A year later, Korean American Mike Park founded Asian Man Records, a predominantly ska/punk label run from his California garage. Park and his label helped kickstart the careers of Stateside cult heroes such as Less Than Jake and Alkaline Trio,  while also giving a platform for acts of Asian heritage including India's Nicotine and Japan's Yoko Utsumi.  

Asian and Asian American indie artists have remained in the public eye through the mid 2010s, crafting devoted followings across the globe. With eight GRAMMY nominations to her name, South Korean-born Karen O has kept the flag flying over the following two decades as the frontwoman of garage punks Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Osaka's Shonen Knife, the one-time Lollapalooza regulars championed by Kurt Cobain, did as much alongside Tokyo's Buffalo Daughter — the Shibuya-kei pioneers who signed to the Beastie Boys' Grand Royal label. Meanwhile, the music of Cornelius, a.k.a. the  "Japanese" Beck" has graced everything from NFL ads to Scott Pilgrim vs the World.  And then there’s David Pajo, the Filipino American guitarist whose journeyman career has incorporated everyone from Slint and Tortoise to Zwan and Gang of Four.  

The Asian American rock scene has further coalesced in the last few years with women leading the way. Whether it’s the dreamy indie of Leslie Bear's alter ego Long Beard, intimate bedroom pop of Filipino American singer-songwriter Jay Som or, perhaps most notably, the sonic adventurism of Japanese American Mitski.  

Indeed, Mitski's  2018 LP Be the Cowboy was named Album of the Year by both Pitchfork and Vulture, and she received an Oscar nod for her contribution to the soundtrack of Everything Everywhere All at Once alongside New York post-rockers Son Lux, two-thirds of whom are also of Asian descent In another landmark in Asian American representation Mitski had also previously invited Som and Japanese Breakfast to provide support on her North American tour.

And with indie chameleons such as Korean Canadian Luna Li, American Korean Deb Never and Chinese American Sofya Wang all emerging in the 2020s, the future seems bright, too. Indeed, despite concerns the convergence of artists with Asian heritage would be dismissed as a passing fad,  it’s clear that rock grounded in this community is thriving stronger than ever before. 

Celebrate AAPI Month 2023 With A Genre-Spanning Playlist Featuring BLACKPINK, Yaeji, Olivia Rodrigo & More

It's that time again! The 2023 Met Gala — one of the fashion bonanzas of the year — is in full force. And given that fashion has always been the yin to music's yang, GRAMMY winners and nominees were among the stars studding this glamorous, fashion-forward event.

Presented by gala co-chair Anna Wintour, the editor of Vogue and global editorial director of Condé Nast, the Met Gala this year is co-chaired by Penélope Cruz, Michaela Coel, Roger Federer and three-time GRAMMY winner Dua Lipa.

GRAMMY winners and nominees as well as today’s leading artists in music are already setting the Met Gala red carpet on fire, with everyone from Dua Lipa, Phoebe Bridgers, Rita Ora, David Byrne, rising rap sensation Ice Spice, and more showing off their fierce fashion looks. Plus, Rihanna and her partner ASAP Rocky made a last-minute surprise arrival on the 2023 Met Gala red carpet, setting the fashion and music worlds ablaze.

This year's Met Gala celebrates the indelible legacy of the late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld; the dress code is "In honor of Karl…")

Below, check out some of the most eye-catching red carpet fashion looks from music’s biggest stars at the 2023 Met Gala.

Rihanna attends the 2023 Met Gala Celebrating "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 01, 2023 in New York City | Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Dua Lipa arrives for the 2023 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 1, 2023, in New York | Photo: ANGELA WEISS / AFP

(L-R) Finneas O'Connell and Billie Eilish attend The 2023 Met Gala Celebrating "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 01, 2023 in New York City | Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer/MG23/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue

Bad Bunny attends The 2023 Met Gala Celebrating "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 01, 2023 in New York City | Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Jennifer Lopez attends the 2023 Met Gala Celebrating "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 01, 2023 in New York City | Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Cardi B attends the 2023 Met Gala Celebrating "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 01, 2023 in New York City | Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer/MG23/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue

Doja Cat attends the 2023 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 01, 2023 in New York City | Photo: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Lil Nas X attends The 2023 Met Gala Celebrating "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 01, 2023 in New York City | Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer/MG23/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue

Usher attends the 2023 Met Gala Celebrating "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 01, 2023 in New York City | Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images

Sean "Diddy" Combs attends The 2023 Met Gala Celebrating "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 01, 2023 in New York City | Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images

Phoebe Bridgers attends the 2023 Met Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 01, 2023 in New York City | Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Anitta attends the 2023 Met Gala the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 01, 2023 in New York City | Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images

Halle Bailey attends the 2023 Met Gala Celebrating "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 01, 2023 in New York City | Photo: Kevin Mazur/MG23/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue

Janelle Monáe attends The 2023 Met Gala Celebrating "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 01, 2023 in New York City | Photo: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

2023 GRAMMYs Red Carpet Fashion Highlights: Taylor Swift, Cardi B, Harry Styles, Lizzo, Doja Cat & More