A closer look at the breakout stars who earned a Best New Artist nomination for the 2013 Grammy Awards.
These five bright new musicmakers have a shot at the Best New Artist trophy at the 55th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday night (February 10).
 Alabama Shakes
Mixing blues-rock and Southern soul, Alabama Shakes began building major buzz following a glowing New York Times review about its 2011 performance at the CMJ Music Marathon. In the months leading up to the April release of its debut album, Boys & Girls, the Athens, Ga., band -- vocalist/guitarist Brittany Howard, guitarist Heath Fogg, bassist Zac Cockrell and drummer Steve Johnson -- played sold-out club gigs across North America. With a Zales commercial synch and a push of its single "Hold On" to triple A and noncommercial radio, Boys & Girls peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard 200.
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 fun.
fun. was born following the 2008 breakup of frontman Nate Ruess' previous rock band, the Format. For his new pop-leaning project, Ruess recruited bandmates Andrew Dost and Jack Antonoff, who respectively played in the bands Anathallo and Steel Train. The trio released its debut album, Aim and Ignite, in 2009, but it wasn't until three years later with second album Some Nights that fun. started making waves. In addition to spending six weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100, the group's breakout single, "We Are Young" (featuring Janelle Monáe), was the third-biggest-selling digital song of 2012 with 5.9 million downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
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 Hunter Hayes
Hunter Hayes had three top 30 hits on the Hot Country Songs chart this year: "Storm Warning" (No. 14), "Wanted" (No. 1) and "Somebody's Heartbreak." The 21-year-old country newcomer's self-titled album on Atlantic peaked at No. 4 on Top Country Albums and sold 419,000 as of late December 2012, according to Nielsen SoundScan. In addition to writing or co-writing all the songs on the set, Hayes served as its co-producer and performed all vocal and instrumental tracks. He's also up for best country solo performance ("Wanted") and best country album.
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 The Lumineers
Buoyed by synchs of their song "Ho Hey" in a Microsoft Bing ad and the "Silver Linings Playbook" movie trailer, recent Billboard cover act the Lumineers have crossed the half-million sold mark of their self-titled debut on indie label Dualtone. The Denver-based alternative folk trio released second single "Stubborn Love" at the end of the eligibility period following up on the top five Hot 100 single "Ho Hey." The Lumineers are also vying for best Americana album.
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 Frank Ocean
A member of Los Angeles hip-hop collective Odd Future, New Orleans-born R&B singer Frank Ocean originally worked as a songwriter for such artists as John Legend and Brandy before breaking out with his acclaimed debut mixtape, Nostalgia, Ultra, in 2011. He later appeared on the track "No Church in the Wild," from Jay-Z & Kanye West'sWatch the Throne, which earned Grammy nominations this year for best short form video and best rap/sung collaboration. But it wasn't until this year that Ocean truly made a name for himself with his first album, Channel Orange, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The singer is also nominated for record of the year ("Thinkin Bout You"), album of the year and best urban contemporary album.
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