Olivia Dean, Lola Young, Sombr Ramp Up for Grammy Awards With Performances at Spotify’s Best New Artist Party

Spotify returned for Grammy Week last night at Los Angeles’ Lot at Formosa to celebrate the eight nominees for best new artist, featuring performances from Olivia Dean, Leon Thomas, Katseye, Addison Rae, Sombr, Lola Young, Alex Warren and the Marías.

The streamer’s annual party, which was called off last year due to the Los Angeles fires, is a hot-ticket event each Grammy year, welcoming roughly 1,500 industry attendees for a night of music and mingling. This year was no exception, drawing Diplo, John Summit, Zara Larsson, Teddy Swims, Yungblud, Ravyn Lenae, Noah Kahan, Willow Smith, Benson Boone and many more.

But the true focus of the evening was the performances, where this year’s class took turns giving three-to-four song sets on a rotating stage. Thomas kick-started the night with “Yes It Is” and his nominated song “Mutt,” shredding on an electric guitar, before Young gave one of the most impassioned and show-stopping performances of the night. During her 15-minute set, she explained that it was her first performance since September, when she collapsed on stage at All Things Go Festival and subsequently canceled all subsequent events. “I’m feeling better,” she told the crowd, giving powerful renditions of “Sad Sob Story! :)” and “D£aler.” (Those hoping for her breakout hit “Messy” had to readjust expectations, as she left it out.)

Elsewhere, the Marías ran through dreamy tunes including “No One Noticed” and “Back to Me,” while Katseye kicked up the volume with “Gnarly.” Alex Warren sang to the back of the room for “Ordinary” and Sombr embraced his inner rock star with “Back to Friends,” passing the mic to his “12 to 12” music video star Rae for a performance that included “Diet Pepsi” and “High Fashion.”

But Dean, who is widely forecasted to be a frontrunner for best new artist, stole the show with her closing performance of “Man I Need” and “So Easy (To Fall in Love).” It was a cap on a night that gave an extended taste of what to expect at this Sunday’s event, when all eight artists will join back together to perform a medley during the telecast.