Singer-songwriter Alessia Cara won best new artist at the 2018 Grammys Sunday night, beating out SZA, Khalid, Lil Uzi Vert, and Julia Michaels.
The 21-year-old singer has risen in popularity after her single “Here” topped the charts and she toured as the opening act for Coldplay in the U.K.
“I’ve been pretend winning Grammys since I was a kid, like in my shower, so you’d think I’d have this speech thing down but I absolutely don’t,” Cara said in her acceptance speech before she thanked her family and fans for all of their support.
It's official! We have our Best New Artist at The 60th Annual #GRAMMYs! Congratulations to @alessiacara. pic.twitter.com/TIBhW6VbNY
— CBS (@CBS) January 29, 2018
Cara also gave a nod to all the up-and-coming artists who made waves in 2017.
“I just want to say that there are some incredible artists out there that are making incredible music that deserve to be acknowledged— that don’t always get acknowledged because of popularity contests or numbers games,” she said. “That’s kind of unfortunate. I just wanted to encourage everyone to support real music and real artists because everyone deserves the same shot.”
Fans of Cara—including Nick Jonas—were ecstatic on Twitter.
Me with the 2018 #GRAMMYs Best New Artist @alessiacara. Congrats on the big win! pic.twitter.com/0oKAB6ckU3
— Nick Jonas (@nickjonas) January 29, 2018
Congratulations girl! Well deserved! @alessiacara #2018Grammys pic.twitter.com/TcriV9jXhu
— Grace VanderWaal (@GraceVanderWaal) January 29, 2018
I have sung and cried and shouted to every single lyric and every single melody you've shared with the world. Congratulations @alessiacara Thank you for being unafraid to be you, to be real. I am so happy and so proud of you. Enjoy this moment. @RecordingAcad
— Sofia Carson (@SofiaCarson) January 29, 2018
Others, however, were dismayed that Cara won the award over artists like SZA and Khalid, who put out albums in 2017, despite the fact that Cara’s last album came out in 2015.
alessia cara hasnt dropped an album since 2015. uzi has dropped 6 projects since 2015. talk about snubbery
— fbg mike (@painbuiltt) January 29, 2018
how did best new artist not go to SZA … or khalid .. or uzi….?? I love her too but alessia cara has had music on the radio since 2016 …..
— naomie (@itsmarkjohns) January 29, 2018
This was SZA or Khalid's award to win! Not because Alessia Cara is bad (I love her), but because she should have been nominated for this award years ago when she was actually new. #GRAMMYS pic.twitter.com/n9yvtBy9kZ
— Alamin Yohannes (@AlaminYohannes) January 29, 2018
The Daily Dot interviewed Cara in June 2016, right before she embarked on a tour with Coldplay. The former YouTube star reached another milestone for digital entertainers Sunday night.