Jack Antonoff quietly made history at the 2026 Grammy Awards when the Kendrick Lamar and SZA collab “Luther” won Record of the Year.
As a producer on the track, Antonoff earns a Record of the Year Grammy. That makes him just the fourth person in the nearly 70-year history of the Grammys to win each of the “Big Four” categories: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year, and Best New Artist.
He joins Christopher Cross, Adele, and Billie Eilish as the only people to ever pull off this feat.
Who could be next to join this incredibly exclusive club? Let’s make some informed predictions, while also taking a look at the four people who have achieved it so far.
Note: Personally, I’ve never believed that Best New Artist should be included as one of the Big Four. It’s a lesser award, and many great artists over the years (Whitney Houston, Lady Gaga) were not even eligible for Best New Artist due to a technicality.
So you’ll usually see me refer to the “Big Three” Grammy categories instead. But for the purposes of this article, we’ll refer to the Big Four, since that’s a term that the Grammys commonly use.
Artists Who Have Won Each of the Big Four
Antonoff won both Best New Artist and Song of the Year as a member of Fun. in 2013 for “We Are Young.” He later won Album of the Year three times as a producer for Taylor Swift albums 1989 (2016), Folklore (2021), and Midnights (2024.)
That meant he only needed a Record of the Year win to complete the set. He lost in 2024 and 2025 as a producer on Swift’s “Anti-Hero” and “Fortnight.” In 2026, he had two chances, for producing both “Luther” and Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild.” When “Luther” won, he joined the Big Four club.
Christopher Cross was the first artist to win each of the Big Four, and in fact, he won them all one night. In 1981, he dominated the show with his smash hit “Sailing” and claimed all four trophies.
It took three decades for another artist to achieve the feat. After winning Best New Artist in 2009, Adele returned in 2012 and won Record, Song, and Album of the Year for “Rolling in the Deep” and 21.
In 2020, Eilish became the third member of the club by taking each of the Big Four, with “Bad Guy” winning Record and Song of the Year.
Who’s Most Likely to Join This Club Next?
The trickiest part of winning the Big Four is taking home Best New Artist, because you only get one chance to win that award (except in rare cases, which we’ll discuss later.)
Let’s first consider some of the superstars who won’t be joining this club, because they didn’t win Best New Artist. We’re talking A-listers like Kendrick Lamar, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Jay-Z, Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter, Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, and Kacey Musgraves.
So as we try to predict who will be the next person to win all of the Big Four, we have to look at past Best New Artist winners, and then try to imagine scenarios in which they might win the other three awards.
These are the five artists who would seem to have the best shot to join the club next.
Paul McCartney
Still needs to win: Record of the Year
It’s wild that someone who won Best New Artist back in 1965 could still join this club. But it’s very possible.
In fact, Sir Paul just missed in 2025, when the final Beatles single, “Now and Then,” was nominated for Record of the Year but lost to Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” He already won Song of the Year in 1967 for “Michelle” and Album of the Year in 1968 for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. He was also up for Record of the Year in 1983 for “Ebony and Ivory.”
Is it possible McCartney could still win ROY? Probably not for a solo track. But what if he’s a featured artist? Then it becomes much more plausible.
In 2016, McCartney was up for two Grammys as a featured artist on a rap song by Kanye West. That’s probably how it would happen. Imagine that Kendrick Lamar recruits McCartney for a track. Wouldn’t that combination of star power have ROY potential?
Sam Smith
Still needs to win: Album of the Year
In 2015, Smith won BNA, plus Record and Song of the Year for “Stay With Me.” Smith was also up for Album of the Year, but was beaten out by Beck.
Smith is still making good records, but right now it’s hard to see them winning Album of the Year anytime soon. Smith has only received 1 Grammy nomination in the past 11 years, so they’re no longer a Grammy darling.
Still, Smith won that lone recent nomination, when “Unholy” captured Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. So Sam does have some lingering Recording Academy support. If they put out a great album, and there’s a split field in the AOY category, maybe Smith could pull it out, the way Harry Styles did in 2023.
Amy Winehouse
Still needs to win: Album of the Year
Winehouse won BNA, ROY, and SOY in 2008 for “Rehab,” but she lost Album of the Year. She’s obviously no longer with us. But if there’s enough material in the vault somewhere for a posthumous release, such a record would likely be incredibly popular with Grammy voters.
Rolling Stone says Winehouse has at least 10 unreleased songs. That could be enough for an album! The Grammys have always loved to reward deserving artists who have passed away, so there’s a small chance.
Lauryn Hill
Still needs to win: Record and Song of the Year
Ms. Lauryn Hill has already won the two hardest awards of the four, having claimed Best New Artist and Album of the Year in 1999.
As for Record and Song, it may seem hard to picture her winning those awards right now, since she rarely releases music anymore. But all it would take is one collaboration.
If Hill works on a track by an A-lister (maybe Beyonce?), and she contributes to the songwriting, that would give her a shot at winning both awards.
Alicia Keys
Still needs to win: Album of the Year, Record of the Year
“Fallin” helped propel Alicia Keys to Song of the Year and Best New Artist wins in 2002. The 18-time Grammy winner has been nominated for Album and Record of the Year twice each, without success.
It’s possible that Keys’ days of recording smash hits may be over. But don’t forget that she’s an accomplished producer. She produced or co-produced almost all of her work.
If Keys were to take the Antonoff route and start producing for other artists, we could potentially see her accepting major awards on a Grammy stage again.
Other Possible Contenders
Four other recent Best New Artist winners are worth keeping an eye on: Chappell Roan, Olivia Rodrigo, Megan Thee Stallion, and Dua Lipa. So far, none of them have won any of the Big Four other than BNA, but they’ve all come close.
Rodrigo (2022 BNA winner) and Roan (2025 BNA winner) have both been nominated for the other three awards as well. Both are still early enough in their careers that they will have many more opportunities to capture the other three.
Lipa won BNA in 2019 and was nominated for the other three in 2021, but did not win. Megan Thee Stallion won BNA in 2021 and has been nominated for ROY and AOY.
It will take some time, but any of those women could be in the running a few years down the road.
Can An Artist Win Best New Artist Later in Their Career?
Yes, on rare occasions, it is actually possible to get a BNA nomination later in one’s career. The Grammys are pretty liberal with the definition of “new artist,” and they’ve shown a willingness to stretch the rules, if the person goes from a group to a solo artist, or vice versa.
For instance, Jody Watley was a member of Shalamar for years, and then went solo, and won Best New Artist in 1988. Similarly, Lauryn Hill, after already winning Grammys with the Fugees, won BNA two years later when she went solo.
And Leon Thomas had already won a Grammy as a songwriter when he was nominated for BNA as a recording artist in 2026.
Billie Eilish’s brother and collaborator, Finneas, almost joined this club in 2022. That’s the year he was nominated for Best New Artist, after already winning Record, Song, and Album of the Year with his sister. He lost BNA that year to Rodrigo.
The bottom line: It’s really hard to win all four of these awards. The easiest route is probably the path that Antonoff took: win Best New Artist as a recording artist, then win the other three as a producer or songwriter.
Who do you think will be next to win all of the Big Four Grammy Awards?
Last Updated on February 10, 2026