By Wonderwall.com Editors
8:13am PST, Jan 6, 2020
The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards are just around the corner, airing from the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Jan. 26, 2020. In honor of music's biggest night, Wonderwall.com is checking up on some past best new artist winners to find out what they're up to now. Let's start with Lauryn Hill, who won best new artist at the Grammys on Feb. 22, 1999. Keep reading to find out what she's doing these days…
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Former Fugees member Lauryn Hill hasn't released another true solo album since 1988's "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill," which helped win her the best new artist title the following year. So much time has passed that her son Zion — the baby she famously sang about on the introspective album track "To Zion" — graduated from high school in 2015 and welcomed a baby himself in 2017! Lauryn — who in late 2019 released her first new song in five years, "Guarding the Gates" off the 'Queen & Slim" soundtrack — dealt with personal drama as the world awaited new music: The mother of six got herself into such serious financial trouble that in 2013, she served three months in prison for tax evasion, doing her time at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut — the same facility where reality star Teresa Giudice served time for fraud in 2015 and where the hit Netflix series "Orange Is the New Black" is set. In 2019, she hit the road for a "Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" 20th anniversary tour.
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Since her big Grammy win, Paula Cole's released seven more studio albums including "Revolution" in 2019. Her song "I Don't Want to Wait" — one of her most well-known hits — was the theme song for "Dawson's Creek" until the show wound down in 2003. She's been a visiting scholar in performance studies on the faculty at Boston's Berklee School of Music, where she teaches in the voice department, since 2013.
Norah Jones won the award for best new artist at the 2003 Grammys.
Norah Jones has racked up nine Grammys in total following the success of her album "Come Away with Me" in 2002. She's released six more studio albums including her most recent, 2019's "Begin Again." She's also done multiple collaborations with other artists including "Foreverly" with Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong in 2013 and a country band, Puss n Boots, with jazz singer Sasha Dobson and bassist Catherine Popper, a former frequent Ryan Adams, Grace Potter and Jack White collaborator. As for her personal life, the ultra-private star welcomed a son in 2014 and a second child in 2016 with musician Pete Remm, whom she's since reportedly married.
Hootie & the Blowfish won the best new artist prize at the Grammy Awards on Feb. 22, 1996.
Darius Rucker broke out as a solo artist after his days with Hootie & the Blowfish. He put out an R&B album called "Back to Then" in 2002, but he really found success when he went country with "Learn to Live" in 2008. In 2017, he released his fifth country album, "When Was the Last Time." The singer-songwriter, who counts golfer Tiger Woods among his closest friends, has three kids: two with wife Beth Rucker and one from a previous relationship. In 2019, Hootie & the Blowfish — which also includes Mark Bryan, Jim Sonefeld and Dean Felber — reunited and in November released their sixth studio album and first in 14 years, "Imperfect Circle," which was preceded by their "Group Therapy" tour, which wrapped in October 2019 (and featured another big '90s band, Barenaked Ladies, as an opener).
Sheryl Crow won for best new artist at the Grammy Awards on March 3, 1995.
In the decade after her best new artist Grammy win, Sheryl Crow released hit after hit and made headlines for her high-profile romances with actor Owen Wilson and cyclist Lance Armstrong. But in more recent years, she's been happily raising her two adopted sons, Wyatt and Levi, as a single parent. The nine-time Grammy winner has had her fair share of health problems too: She underwent a lumpectomy after discovering breast cancer in 2006 and was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor called a meningioma in 2011. She released her 11th studio album, "Threads" — which features collaborations with many of her friends in the industry — in 2019.
Mariah Carey won for best new artist at the Grammy Awards on Feb. 20, 1991.
Where do we even begin with Mariah Carey? She's become a music icon since getting her best new artist Grammy back in the early '90s and can boast a whopping 15 studio albums, 19 No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, plus five Grammys in 34 nominations. The "Butterfly" singer got engaged to Australian billionaire James Packer in January 2016 when he proposed with a 35-carat diamond ring. The proposal came about a year after she and second husband Nick Cannon, the father of her twins, Moroccan and Monroe, went public with plans to divorce. But like her marriage to Nick, Mariah's relationship with James didn't work out: They called it quits in October 2016. But don't feel sorry for Mimi! As seen on her reality show "Mariah's World," she ended up falling for backup dancer Bryan Tanaka, and they're still going strong as of late 2019.
Cyndi Lauper won best new artist at the Grammy Awards on Feb. 26, 1985.
Keeping her 40-plus year career going strong, Cyndi Lauper released her 11th studio album, "Detour," in 2016. The "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" singer has been nominated for a ton of Grammys over the years, but only won her second in 2014 — in the best musical theater album category: She wrote the music for Broadway's "Kinky Boots" and also won a best original score Tony for it in 2013 (Cyndi was nominated for a best original score Tony again in 2018 for her work on Broadway's "SpongeBob SquarePants" musical). The eccentric singer and LGBTQ+ rights activist has been married to actor David Thornton since 1991 and has one son, Declyn. She might be in her 60s now, but she shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Toni Braxton won the best new artist prize at the Grammy Awards on March 1, 1994.
Seven-time Grammy winner Toni Braxton competed on Season 7 of "Dancing With the Stars" in 2008 and has starred on the WE tv reality show "Braxton Family Values" since 2011, allowing cameras to chronicle everything in her life — including her struggles with lupus. Due to her health condition, she had to cancel shows on her "The Hits" tour in late 2016 and early 2017. Her eighth album, "Sex & Cigarettes," was released in March 2018 and was nominated for three Grammys at the 2019 show. Toni has been divorced since 2014 and has two sons, one of whom was diagnosed with autism. She's also seemingly resolved her past financial issues with bankruptcy. In 2019, she hit the road for her "As Long As I Live" tour.
Christina Aguilera became a pop superstar after winning big at the Grammys in 2000. Since releasing her seventh album, "Lotus," in 2012, the five-time Grammy winner has served as an on-and-off coach on "The Voice," NBC's singing competition show, and raised her two kiddos. Xtina gave birth to daughter Summer Rain Rutler with fiance Matt Rutler in 2014 and has a son born in 2008, Max Bratman, from her first marriage to music exec Jordan Bratman. She released her newest album, "Liberation," in 2018 and subsequently went on her first tour in over a decade, which wrapped up in December 2019.
Carrie Underwood was named best new artist at the Grammy Awards on Feb. 11, 2007.
Carrie Underwood is a busy mom these days! In February 2015, Carrie gave birth to her first child, son Isaiah, with hockey star husband Mike Fisher, who retired in 2018. While she changed diapers, her fifth album, "Storyteller," cranked out hits like "Smoke Break" after its 2015 release. And we have "American Idol" to thank for finding this country talent back in 2005! Did we mention she's now won seven Grammys? In late 2017, Carrie revealed that she'd suffered a fall at home that was so gruesome, she needed surgery for a broken wrist and more than 40 stitches in her face. Despite her fears that she'd look dramatically different, a few months of healing revealed little damage to the singer's mug. In 2018, Carrie released a new album, "Cry Pretty," and just a few months later in January 2019 welcomed her second son, Jacob, before hitting the road for another world tour, which wrapped in October 2019.
John Legend won best new artist at the Grammy Awards on Feb. 8, 2006.
Whoa! John Legend has won nine Grammys since he took home the best new artist prize back in 2006. He also won an Oscar in 2015 for best original song for writing the tune "Glory" for the movie "Selma." The "All of Me" singer and his model and cookbook author wife, Chrissy Teigen, welcomed daughter Luna Stephens in April 2016, and in May 2018, son Miles joined the family. In 2017, John added a Tony to his award shelf when Broadway's "Jitney," which he co-produced, took home the prize for best play revival. In 2018, John performed on NBC's "Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert" and in September the same year won an Emmy for his work as a producer on the project, making him an EGOT winner just a few months before his 40th birthday. In late 2019, John — who's served as a coach on "The Voice" since early the same year — added another major title to his resume when People magazine named him that year's Sexiest Man Alive.
Alicia Keys won for best new artist at the Grammy Awards on Feb. 27, 2002.
In 2012, Alicia Keys released her fifth album, "Girl on Fire." After coaching on season 11 of "The Voice," Alicia released her first single in four years, "In Common." She also delivered a new song, "That's What's Up," in January 2017 barely three months after her sixth studio album, 'HERE," and returned for seasons 12 and 14 of "The Voice." In 2019, she also tried her hand at hosting, taking over duties at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards in February. She'll host the Grammys again in 2020 — the same year her seventh studio album, "A.L.I.C.I.A.," is due. On the personal side, she's also devoted mom to her two young sons, Egypt and Genesis, and a wife to hip-hop artist and producer Swizz Beatz, whom she married in 2010.
LeAnn Rimes won for best new artist at the Grammy Awards on Feb. 26, 1997.
In recent years, country-pop singer LeAnn Rimes has made headlines more often for her personal life than her music. She married actor Eddie Cibrian in 2011 after meeting him on the set of the Lifetime movie "Northern Lights" and famously engaging in an affair. At the the time, he was married to Brandi Glanville — who later joined the cast of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" — and LeAnn was married to chef Dean Sheremet. In 2012, LeAnn sought treatment for anxiety issues in the wake of the scandal and in 2014, she and Eddie starred on a VH1 reality show, "LeAnn & Eddie." She released the holiday album "Today is Christmas" in 2015 and both an EP, "Re-Imagined," and the album "The Biggest Hits of LeAnn Rimes," in 2018. In 2019, she released the first live album of her 25-year career, 'Rimes: Live at Gruene Hall." She also got back into acting, starring in the holiday movie "It's Christmas, Eve" in 2018.
Evanescence, featuring singer and pianist Amy Lee, won the best new artist Grammy on Feb. 8, 2004.
Amy Lee became a first-time mom to son Jack Lion in 2014, seven years after marrying therapist Josh Hartzler. After Evanescence's extended break (which began in 2012) and split from its former record label following a dispute over royalties, Amy dabbled in film scores, working on music for "War Story" and the short film "Indigo Grey: The Passage." She told Rolling Stone in 2014 that there are some things about her band's old tunes that make her cringe. "Mainly the lyrical content, oh my God, it's like my old diary," she said. Amy reunited with her band for Ozzfest in November 2015, but when it comes to recording new tunes, she remains focused on solo efforts. In 2016, she released a kid-friendly album, "Dream Too Much." She also worked on music for the indie film "Blind." But we haven't heard the last of Evanescence! The band released its latest album, "Synthesis," in November 2017 and toured in 2019, the same year they released a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain" in conjunction with the release of the video game "Gears 5." 2020 will bring a new album for the band as well as new tour dates.
Ryan Dusick, Mickey Madden, Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael and James Valentine — who together make up Maroon 5 — won best new artist at the Grammy Awards on Feb. 13, 2005.
Maroon 5 is still alive and kickin' — but the breakout star has definitely been lead singer Adam Levine. He served as a coach on "The Voice," NBC's singing competition show, for 16 seasons starting in 2011, got hitched to model Behati Prinsloo in July 2014 and soon welcomed daughters Dusty Rose in 2016 and Gio Grace in 2017. Adam is still going strong with his three-time Grammy-winning band. They released their hit single-packed sixth studio album, "Red Pill Blues," in late 2017 and in early 2019 headlined the Super Bowl Halftime Show.
Justin Vernon of Bon Iver won best new artist at the Grammy Awards on Feb. 12, 2012.
After winning the best new artist Grammy, Bon Iver's Justin Vernon took quite a break — five years following his last album, in fact — before releasing "22, A Million" in September 2016. It debuted to critical acclaim and garnered a best alternative album nomination at the 2017 Grammys. His most recent album — "I, I" — came out in August 2019, and the following month he released dates for a 2020 tour of Asia and Europe.
Esperanza Spalding won best new artist at the Grammy Awards on Feb. 13, 2011.
Esperanza Spalding's surprising best new artist Grammy win ensured that her album "Chamber Music Society" was the bestselling contemporary jazz album that year. She earned two more Grammys two years later and has continued to work steadily. She also appeared on Bruno Mars' "Unorthodox Jukebox" album. Though she might not be as big of a name as her fellow 2011 best new artist nominees — Drake, Justin Bieber, Florence and the Machine and Mumford and Sons — she has continued to have a successful jazz career. In 2017, was was appointed a professor of practice in the music department at Harvard University and released her sixth studio album, "Exposure," followed by her Grammy-nominated seventh, "12 Little Spells," in October 2018.
