5 Things to Know About Samara Joy, Best New Artist Winner at the 2023 Grammys

Samara Joy can now call herself a Grammy-winning artist. During the 65th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday (Feb. 5), past winner Olivia Rodrigo presented the 23-year-old jazz singer with the best new artist award.

“I’ve been singing all of my life. Thank you so much for this honor, thank you to everyone who has listened to me or supported me,” she told the audience in her acceptance speech, as fellow nominees Anitta, Latto, Måneskin and more watched on. “All of you are so inspiring to me, and so to be here because of who I am … all of you have inspired me because of who you are. You express yourself and exactly who you are, authentically. So to be her here by just being myself, by just being who I was born as. I am so thankful.”

In addition to winning the coveted best new artist award, a stiff category that featured nine other nominees across different genres, Joy also won best jazz vocal album for her sophomore album, 2022’s Linger Awhile. It’s quite a feat, considering she began singing jazz just a mere five or six years ago, according to the singer herself.

After taking home two Grammys, Joy thanked not only the Recording Academy for recognizing her talent, but also her fans for cheering her on and lifting her up. “The best night of my life. Thank y’all so much for supporting me,” she wrote via Instagram, along with a red heart emoji.

So who is Samara Joy? Below, Billboard compiled five things you should know about the artist.