Geese may be the strongest conventional band competing for a Best New Artist nomination at the 2027 Grammys after a breakout year. INDIO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 11: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) (NOT TO BE LICENSED FOR ANY STANDALONE OR SPECIAL INTEREST BOOK PUBLISHING USE CONCERNING THE COACHELLA MUSIC FESTIVAL AND/OR STAGECOACH MUSIC FESTIVAL) Cameron Winter of GEESE performs at the Gobi stage during the 2026 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at Empire Polo Club on April 11, 2026 in Indio, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Coachella)
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The race for Best New Artist at the 2027 Grammys is crowded with rising stars, some of whom have scored huge hits and introduced themselves to the world in spectacular fashion. It’s entirely possible that country star Ella Langley will lead predictions – and perhaps even claim the trophy – based largely off of the historic success of her single “Choosin’ Texas,” though nothing is certain until a name is called on stage.
Among the dozens of acts that are technically eligible for the honor, relatively few of them are bands. Of the handful of non-soloists that may submit themselves for consideration, Geese may have the strongest chance of becoming the rare group to snag the honor.
The Brooklyn rockers have spent the past year turning Getting Killed into one of the most acclaimed rock releases of the recently-closed eligibility period, and the band’s profile has grown considerably in both the United States and United Kingdom in a very short span of time. The outfit is hardly guaranteed one of the eight coveted spots when nominations are announced in November, but at the moment, Geese looks like the clearest conventional band capable of crashing a field that will almost certainly be dominated by solo performers.
Geese Has the Strongest Case Among All Bands
Getting Killed was released in September 2025 – only days after the eligibility period for the 2027 Grammys began – and it quickly became far more than a successful indie-rock set. The project ended up on quite a few year-end lists published by critics, though it wasn’t a huge commercial win.
Geese remains far less well-known in America than many other Best New Artist hopefuls – Getting Killed peaked at No. 96 on the Billboard 200 – though the industry seems to love the group’s story. Geese won International Group of the Year at the 2026 BRIT Awards, beating several much more established names for the honor.
Notably, the Grammys recently changed a rule in a manner that may directly help Geese score a Best New Artist nod. The rock outfit had reportedly already been entered for Best New Artist three times – twice as a group while lead singer Cameron Winter was submitted on his own, which reportedly counts toward the act’s total – which was, for a time, the most allowed per name. Beginning with the 2027 ceremony, artists may be entered for the race as many as four times.
Best New Artist Often Includes Only One Band
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 01: (L-R) Yoonchae Jeung, Megan Skiendiel, Lara Raj, Manon Bannerman, Sophia Laforteza, and Daniela Avanzini of Katseye attend the 68th GRAMMY Awards on February 01, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
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If Geese ends up as the sole traditional band in the Best New Artist category, the lineup may look strikingly solo-heavy — but it would hardly be unprecedented. The 2021 field included no obvious conventional bands. Glass Animals filled that role alone in 2022, while The War and Treaty did so in 2024 and Khruangbin followed in 2025. Last year, Katseye and The Marías brought the number of groups in the category to two.
One-band Best New Artist competitions are hardly unusual, but what makes 2027 interesting is how quickly the list of obvious group contenders thins out after Geese.
K-Pop Always Has Several Names in the Race
Cortis claims one of the strongest purely commercial arguments for a nod. The five-member K-pop group sent GreenGreen to No. 3 on the Billboard 200 earlier this year.
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – APRIL 20: CORTIS members Juhun, James, Seong-hyun, Geon-ho and Martin attend the media showcase for the group’s second mini album ‘Green Green’ and title track ‘Red Red’ at YES24 Live Hall on April 20, 2026 in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by THE FACT/Imazins via Getty Images)
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ILLIT also has a notable U.S. resume, andGrammy voters showed last year with Katseye’s inclusion in the Best New Artist category that a pop vocal group operating in or around the K-pop ecosystem can reach the general field.
The Last Dinner Party, Dexter And The Moonrocks and The Beaches
The Last Dinner Party has been on shortlists for a spot for years, and while the rock outfit may technically be eligible, it’s tough to imagine voters selecting that name above others – especially now that the buzz has worn off and the band hasn’t seemed like a “new” act for several years.
Dexter and the Moonrocks aren’t well-known yet, but the group did score a meaningful hit, and sometimes one is enough to land in the Best New Artist category. “Freakin’ Out” climbed to No. 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart.
The Beaches may be the most recognizable of the three after several years of growing popularity in the United States, but a case for Best New Artist is a little messier. Much of the music that drove the Beaches breakthrough predates the current eligibility window. That doesn’t rule the group out, but it doesn’t help matters.
The avant-garde Canadian band Angine de Poitrine jumped into the Best New Artist conversation in earnest after winning the Polaris Music Prize – another one of the music industry’s more prestigious bits of recognition. Real commercial wins followed, but the music is far from a top 40 sound. Will that hurt the act in this tough race?
Canada’s experimental rock band “Angine de Poitrine” guitarist Khn de Poitrine performs during a concert part of the Nuits Botanique music festival in Brussels on May 28, 2026. (Photo by JOHN THYS / AFP via Getty Images)
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Fcukers, Haute & Freddy And Infinity Song Offer Something Different
Fcukers, the New York electronic duo, also appears in Pitchfork’s current Best New Artist predictions, but the pair may still be too underground to have popped onto enough radars.
The Red Clay Strays won ACM Group of the Year and released Grateful during the eligibility window, though the band’s biggest hit “Wondering Why” debuted four years ago. Voters may feel the country rockers are overdue and were overlooked.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – AUGUST 09: Michelle Buzz of Haute & Freddy performs onstage during day three of the Capitol Hill Block Party on August 09, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Mat Hayward/Getty Images)
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Haute & Freddy released its theatrical alt-pop debut Big Disgrace through Atlantic Records during the eligibility period, providing voters with a fully-formed visual and musical identity to consider – though the duo has not yet broken through on the same scale as many of the names expected to dominate the ballot.
Infinity Song has a very different appeal, and standing apart is always a good thing when it comes to Best New Artist. The four siblings released their self-titled album through Roc Nation this summer and have built a following around elaborate harmonies and an old-school soft-rock sound that separates them from much of the field.
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