jazz is back

Samara Joy Sings the Old Ones, Wins Best New Artist

Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Jazz is back, baby. Samara Joy won the 2023 Grammy Award for Best New Artist, beating out the likes of Latto, Anitta, Wet Leg, and fellow jazz cats DOMi and JD Beck. The 23-year-old singer took the stage in front of her idols. “Some of my biggest inspirations were in the room,” she said at the Grammy press room. “Beyoncé, Lizzo, to name a few.” Joy first started singing jazz while in high school in the Bronx. She hopes to return there and give a performance or start a foundation. She got a record deal after a video of her covering Ella Fitzgerald’s “Take Love Easy” went viral. Her music continues to pop off on Tiktok. “I don’t think that would’ve happened as quickly as it did without them seeing me on TikTok organically,” she told Fast Company. One thing that sets Joy apart from her fellow New Artists is her reliance on jazz standards. Her Grammy-winning album, Linger Awhile (Best New Artist is an album-less category, but Linger Awhile also won for Best Jazz Vocal Album) is full of songs that have been done by Joy’s vocal predecessors. “I love the music I grew up on,” Joy said in the Grammy press room. “What drew me to jazz was the authenticity of it.” Congrats on your two authentic Grammys, girl.

Samara Joy Sings the Old Ones, Wins Best New Artist