Katseye, Addison Rae, Lola Young and more light up pre-Grammy Spotify showcase

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Leon Thomas and Olivia Dean brought soul, global girl group Katseye and Addison Rae performed electric pop and Lola Young made a triumphant return to the stage.

Those acts, alongside The Marías, sombr and Alex Warren, make up the 2026 Grammys' best new artist nominees and were the headliners of Spotify’s annual pre-Grammy party Thursday night in Los Angeles.

The event at the Lot at Formosa in West Hollywood spotlighted up-and-coming talent across genres and backgrounds. Each act ran through three to four songs, introducing themselves to an audience of new listeners and dedicated fans in seemingly equal measure.

To hasten the transitions, the stage rotated to reveal another backline, leaving the audience to guess who would emerge next.

First up was Thomas. It was sensuality and swagger from the jump as he worked through three of his hits, ending with the ubiquitous “Mutt.” Consider it an amuse-bouche of tracks from an artist Ty Dolla $ign previously described to The Associated Press as the future of R&B.

“I love y'all so much,” Thomas told the crowd as he began to leave. And then, a reminder: “My name is Leon Thomas.”

When the stage turned a few minutes after, a trepidatious Lola Young was standing in front of a set of chintzy, fringe lamps like those found in a vintage living room. It gave her four-song set a feeling of intimacy, which was amplified by the performance being her first since Sept. 27, when she fainted on stage at the All Things Go Festival in New York.

“I'm back and feeling better," she told the crowd. “Thank you to everybody here.”

Her vocal delivery was fierce and full-throated, though she opted not to perform “Messy,” the single that launched her career into the mainstream.

“Take care of yourselves,” she said as she exited the stage, a simple message with layered meaning.

The rest of the performances arrived fast and furious. The Marías brought their Mazzy Star-indebted, bilingual dream pop. They were followed by “Ordinary" singer Alex Warren's anthemic radio pop.

Everything became “gnarly" from there as Katseye commanded the room as if it were their own stadium. Where other acts opted for complex sets, they stripped the stage bare. Instead, their hyperactive pop and athletic choreography filled space.

Sombr's pop-rock pulled from a mélange of nostalgic genres for the TikTok generation.

“I couldn't get into this party last year,” he joked from the stage.

Spotify did not host the annual event in 2025 following the devastating Los Angeles-area wildfires that shaped a very different kind of Grammy Awards.

In the end, there were two: Addison Rae and Olivia Dean. Rae brought her sensual, hypnotic pop in a medley of “In the Rain,” “High Fashion” and “Diet Pepsi." She described the latter song as starting “so much for me.”

Dean, an old soul with a timeless voice, was a fitting closer.

The pair further confirmed what was already evident in this year's best new artist class: an inventive vision and a diversity of sound can take you far.

The 68th Grammy Awards will be held Feb. 1 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The show will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+. For more coverage of this year’s Grammy Awards visit: www.apnews.com/hub/grammy-awards

Jesse Perlman, from left, María Zardoya, Josh Conway, and Edward James of The Marías arrive at the Spotify Best New Artist Party on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Andrew Park/Invision/AP)

PinkPantheress arrives at the Spotify Best New Artist Party on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Andrew Park/Invision/AP)

This combination of photos show Grammy nominees for best new artist, top row from left, Olivia Dean; Addison Rae; sombr, ottom row from left, Leon Thomas; Alex Warren; and Lola Young. (AP Photo)

From left, Rei Ami, EJAE, and Audrey Nuna of HUNTR/X arrive at the Spotify Best New Artist Party on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Andrew Park/Invision/AP)

Megan Skiendiel, from left, Daniela Avanzini, Manon Bannerman, and Lara Raj of KATSEYE arrive at the Spotify Best New Artist Party on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Andrew Park/Invision/AP)

CHICAGO (AP) — Colson Montgomery grew up in Indiana rooting for the Hoosiers and committed to play baseball for them before the Chicago White Sox made the slugging shortstop a first-round pick in the 2021 draft.

Fair to say, he's inspired by the football team's historic transformation under coach Curt Cignetti. In just two seasons, Indiana's gone from doormat to national champion.

“Cignetti kind of summed it up,” Montgomery said Friday before the team kicked off its fan festival. “He said Indiana University football just won the national championship. It can be done.”

The White Sox believe they are poised to turn a corner. General manager Chris Getz said this week he expects the team to take “a meaningful step forward" after three straight 100-loss seasons.

The players echoed that on Friday, when the team kicked off its weekend fan festival.

“It's great,” right-hander Davis Martin said. “I love the energy that we have and I think everyone in the clubhouse feels it. So the fact that it's emanating outside the clubhouse into the community, into the city is great. But all of us know at the end of the day, wins matter. You've got to go win games.”

The White Sox haven't done much of that in recent years. They made the playoffs in 2020 and 2021 with young stars like Tim Anderson and Luis Robert leading the way, only to unravel.

The White Sox are coming off back-to-back last-place finishes in the AL Central. They went 60-102 in manager Will Venable's first season. But as bad as that sounds, they made a 19-game improvement over 2024, when they finished 41-121 and set a modern major league record for losses.

Last season, there were at least some promising developments. Right-hander Shane Smith made the All-Star team as a rookie, and Montgomery, catcher Kyle Teel and versatile infielder Chase Meidroth all showed potential after making their debuts.

“I think we use last year as a good foundation,” Smith said.

Montgomery belted 21 homers in 71 games. Teel, who hit .273 in 78 games, showed the potential to hit for power and average and the ability to keep runners at bay with his arm.

“It didn’t quite satisfy us,” Montgomery said. “It just made us (feel) like, OK, we think this is what we can do. And now, we just want to be able to sustain it for a 162-game season.”

It's not just the young players the White Sox have returning. They also made a series of moves in the offseason, most notably signing Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami and trading center fielder Luis Robert Jr. to the New York Mets. They acquired infielder Luisangel Acuña and minor league pitcher Truman Pauley in that deal.

The White Sox used some of the financial flexibility they got in the Robert deal to sign veteran reliever Seranthony Domínguez. He figures to close for them.

“It's all going in the right direction,” right-hander Davis Martin said. “But at the end of the day, you're in the big leagues, you've still got to do your job. I think there’s been plenty of times where teams get hyped up and they fall short of expectations. And I think for us we’re not really worried about anything except just going out and playing the game and seeing where we end up after nine innings.”

The fact that things appear headed in the right direction, that there is a building buzz, is a big change from a year ago. Maybe fans will show up. The White Sox were near the bottom in attendance last season at 1,445,738. Only Miami, Tampa Bay and the Athletics were worse.

“From the fans that I've spoken to, they feel it's coming just as much as we do,” Smith said. “So I don't think the convincing takes much. But people want to see wins. There's only so many things you can say without wins. That's what we want to do, too.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb

FILE - Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Seranthony Dominguez (56) delivers during the ninth inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the New York Mets, July 10, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, File)

FILE - Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable stands before a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Sept. 28, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)

FILE - Chicago White Sox general manager Chris Getz talks with reporters before a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, April 26, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)