Best Alternative Music Performance is a new Grammy Award created in 2023 to reward singles or songs. It is the second award for Alternative music, joining the award for full-length albums, Best Alternative Music Album, which has existed since 1991.
Notably, so far, in the short time the category has existed, more than half of the nominees have been women or female-fronted bands. Three of the four winners have also been women or female-fronted.
A rare exception came in 2026, when legends The Cure won the award, marking the first Grammy of their careers.
The category has achieved its goal of highlighting worthy artists who don’t normally receive Grammy recognition, such as Perfume Genius, Alvvays, and Kim Gordon.
Most career Best Alternative Music Performance nominations
Arctic Monkeys 2
Wet Leg 2
Hayley Williams 2 (includes 1 with Paramore)
Most career Best Alternative Music Performance wins
No artist has more than 1
Grammy Awards: Best Alternative Music Performance Winners and Nominees By Year
Winners in bold; other nominees listed beneath.
2026: Alone, The Cure
Everything Is Peaceful Love, Bon Iver
Seein’ Stars, Turnstile
Mangetout, Wet Leg
Parachute, Hayley Williams
2025: Flea, St. Vincent
Neon Pill, Cage the Elephant
Song of the Lake, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Starburster, Fontaines DC
Bye Bye, Kim Gordon
2024: This is Why, Paramore
Belinda Says, Alvvays
Body Paint, Arctic Monkeys
Cool About It, Boygenius
A&W, Lana Del Rey
2023: Chaise Longue, Wet Leg
There’d Better Be a Mirrorball, Arctic Monkeys
Certainty, Big Thief
King, Florence + the Machine
Spitting Off the Edge of the World, Yeah Yeah Yeahs featuring Perfume Genius
Find the Grammy Awards at grammy.com.
Last Updated on February 19, 2026