Quantcast

VMAs best new artist winners: Where are they now?

At one point, they were the hottest artists on the rise in the music industry. Are they still?

The highest honor a breakout singer can receive on MTV Video Music Awards night is the best new artist “moon person.” The award has been around since the very first VMAs, which took place at Radio City Music Hall on Sept. 14, 1984.

The name of the award changed many times in the past 33 years, going from best new artist in a video (1984-2006), to best new artist (2007-2012), to artist to watch (2013-2015). It changed again for the 2016 award show.

Bronx-born Cardi B, Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Pump, Hayley Kiyoko, Chloe x Halle or Bazzi will be dubbed this year’s best new artist live from Radio City Music Hall in New York City, on Monday, Aug. 20.

Does a win this big solidify an artist’s place in the industry? We take a look at some of the past winners to find out whether the VMA music experts and fans were correct in picking out artists that were on the brink of fame.