Former South Idaho Student Nearly Won New Artist Grammy Award

If you missed the recent Grammy Awards telecast or don't pay close attention to budding artists, you might not be aware that one of the most promising new recording figures attended college in southeastern Idaho. Although the former American Idol dropout didn't claim the gold statue Sunday evening, he already has a very impressive resume at just 22.

My wife loves the Grammy Awards. I've watched the show with her every year since we got together nearly 20 years ago. Nowadays, I can't stand the telecast for the simple fact that unless you're Beyonce, Taylor Swift, or Billie Eilish, you're not likely to walk away with anything. Blasted teenage girls!

His single "Beautiful Things" was a monster hit in 2024 and spent several weeks on the American music charts.

Get our free mobile app

For those who didn't tune in Sunday, Beyonce won more awards, including Best Country Album and Album of the Year. Regardless of the fact she managed to steal the biggest award handed to country artists, I'll never consider her country and am quite frankly sad for the men and women who poured their blood, sweat, and tears into their debut albums and got screwed by whoever votes on this crap.

It's nothing against Beyonce, but come on, her attempt at being country wasn't all that great. I listened to the entire album and it didn't sound like genuine country music at all. The Grammy Awards are a popularity contest, unfortunately.

Among this year's Best New Artist nominees was Benson Boone. Boone dropped out of season 19 of American Idol at the age of 18 and chose to pursue music differently, according to grammy.com. In 2020, Boone was a student at Brigham Young University-Idaho, in Rexburg, approximately 180 miles northeast of Twin Falls.

His single "Beautiful Things" was a monster hit in 2024 and spent several weeks on the American music charts. He also toured with Taylor Swift and has been signed to a major record label. Boone lost his chance on February 2 at winning the award for best new artist to Chappell Roan.