BET Awards 2026: The First-Time Nominees You Need to Know
From Mariah the Scientist to Destin Conrad, these are the fresh faces making noise at Culture’s Biggest Night.
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Mariah is a first-time nominee across five categories this year, turning her 2026 run into one of the breakout stories of the ballot.
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2 / 10
Dean’s four-nomination run as a first-time nominee is everything she deserves. She’s doing it with Best New Artist, Best Female R&B/Pop Artist, BET Her, and Viewers’ Choice.
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One of the Best New Artist nominees, Conrad has been building steady R&B momentum, and there’s already a spotlight on his “Love on Digital” era this year.
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BET Awards’ Best New Artist race puts JayDon in the middle of the 2026 rookie conversation, with a strong rebrand, label move, and hot singles to boot.
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kwn’s moody, personal songwriting has put her high on the Best New Artist ballot.
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Fresh off an NAACP Image Award win for Outstanding New Artist, Monaleo brings sharp bars and growing visibility into her first BET Awards run. Plus, Beyoncé loves her!
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One of the new faces in BET’s Best New Artist field, Belly Gang Kushington gets his first big BET Awards look this year.
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Miles Minnick lands in BET’s Best New Artist lineup as one of the year’s newer voices making the jump to the awards stage.
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Trap Dickey rounds out BET’s Best New Artist slate, bringing another fresh rap voice into the 2026 mix.
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