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GRAM MY AWARDS

BEST NEW ARTIST

DUA LIPA British pop singer scored a series of hit singles in the , Bebe Rexha has worn several different hats during the course of her career including “Be the One,” “Hotter Than Hell” and “ (Mwah),” dating — she has been the vocalist on EDM group ’s breakthrough back to 2015. American stardom took a bit longer to secure, but with the 2017 single, “Take Me Home”; co-written songs for and ; release of the single “” and its accompanying choreography-heavy delivered a sterling hook alongside rapper G-Eazy on the top 10 Hot 100 hit , Lipa arrived stateside as a compelling pop heroine. With a list “Me Myself & I”; and navigated a solo pop career with songs like “I Can’t Stop of steps to follow to avoid further involvement with an ex-boyfriend, the song Drinking About You” and “I Got You.” Yet donning a cowboy hat for the first caught fire on U.S. radio and peaked at No. 6 on the in March. time gave the native the biggest hit of her career as her collaboration Lipa followed up the hit with a string of savvy collaborations, including the Calvin with , “Meant to Be,” spent a record-setting 50 weeks atop Harris team-up “One Kiss” that became an international smash, as well as “Kiss the chart and reached No. 2 on the Hot 100. While Rexha and Make Up” with the K-pop . After opening for has remained a go-to collaborator, recently working with artists like and on legs of their respective tours in 2017, Lipa spent much of and , “Meant to Be” was also followed by “I’m a Mess,” one of 2018 on the road, playing festivals and headlining theaters around the world. Rexha’s biggest solo hits to date.

From left: Lipa, Price, Rexha and Smith. . E G A M I E R I W / G N A T

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MARGO PRICE T T E G / R E

Like Jack White, the head of her label , Margo Price grew “Jorja is a constant reminder that true artistry, writing and creativity will D L E F N E

up in the Midwest before relocating to Nashville; unlike White, the Illinois forever be alive and well,” told Billboard last spring of British S O M

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native has favored traditional country over garage rock, and has recently newcomer Jorja Smith. Along with Lamar including the singer-’s T

: E C I R become one of the genre’s most critically acclaimed new voices. Price arrived song “I Am” on the Black Panther soundtrack, featured Smith on P

. S E G to a successful solo career relatively late, waiting tables and performing in two tracks of his project in 2017. Yet Smith’s jazz- and hip-hop- A M I

Y T T various bands with her husband, Jeremy Ivey, before self-financing an influenced R&B has stood on its own: Her debut album, Lost & Found, bowed in E G / S E G

under her own name upon entering her 30s. Her 2016 debut, Midwest Farmer’s the top 10 of the U.K. chart upon its June release and was nominated A M I

C G Daughter, earned her a performance slot in 2016; its 2017 for Britain’s . After joining Drake onstage as a surprise guest at / M A H T follow-up, All American Made, delved more deeply into roots music, featured a a handful of shows in 2017, Smith spent the year developing her performance O G

: A P I duet with and was dedicated to Tom Petty. chops as a headliner. L

66 BILLBOARD | DECEMBER 22, 2018