Seraphina Is a GRAMMY FYC Contender for ‘Labyrinth’

Seraphina is a first-round GRAMMY FYC contender for “Labyrinth,” and yes — we told you so. Politely. In print. Since 2023.

Chicago rocker Seraphina Sanan is featured in her first For Your GRAMMY Consideration (FYC) campaign as a first-round contender for Best New Artist and Best Rock Performance for her original release, “Labyrinth,” according to an Oct. 21, 2026 press announcement. That is a contender, first-round, FYC — not a nomination, and not a moment to be modest about having spotted her early.

That announcement says “Labyrinth” is now available on Spotify, Apple Music, and other major digital streaming platforms. The video had reached 1,165,000 views on YouTube at the time Jerry flagged it on Oct. 28, 2026. Watch it below, and then enjoy the part where The Hype Magazine gets to say, with love: we were here first.

Watch the official “Labyrinth” music video.

We Covered Her When the Experts Were Still Catching Up

This is not a discovery story. This is a receipt.

The Hype Magazine first covered Seraphina in Oct. 2023, when she was 15 and collaborating with Chicago rap legend Twista on the rap/metal track “Nothing” through Universal. That piece noted she already had over a decade of experience in songwriting and music production, and that she had trained at the prestigious Chicago Academy for the Arts in acting, dance, and vocal performance. A 15-year-old with a decade in. Some of us did the math then, too.

Twista and Seraphina Sanan – Press Photo

Twista and Seraphina Sanan with a “Dr. Twista” sign.

By 2024, the file kept growing. Her video for “You’re The One to Blame” was selected for rotation on MTV’s “Brand Spanking New” in the U.S. and on MTV Latin American territories and Mexico, reaching nearly 45 million viewers. Her Twista collaboration “Nothing” was picked up by EA Sports for the new Madden game. Her single “Going Out Tonight” was gaining radio traction, with early radio spin momentum reported at 1,872+ spins and an estimated audience of 7.1 million.

Then came “Chaotic Lover,” which The Hype Magazine positioned in Dec. 2024 as her claim to being a voice for young women in rock. Then, in 2025, “Losing My Mind” and the Nose Dive EP were released Oct. 17, 2025, and produced by GRAMMY Award winner Micky Munday. That same year, we covered her as a high school senior working with GRAMMY-winning producers Damon Sharpe and Micky Munday, backed by Bungalo Music and Film and Universal Music Group — and, offstage, preparing prescreens for a BFA in Musical Theatre while finishing her final year of high school.

In 2026, “Bruises,” written by Seraphina and produced by Damon Sharpe, surpassed 110,000 streams on Spotify and more than 200,000 views on YouTube, and reached No. 1 on the DRT Global Top 100 Independent Airplay Chart dated March 7, 2026. By May 2026, she had shared stages at the Viper Room and Whisky A-Go-Go, and “Labyrinth” had landed on MTV Live’s Metal Thrashing Madness. She had also been photographed with rock royalty Tommy Lee and John 5. Again: we were not surprised. We had said so, repeatedly, in writing.

Seraphina performing live at The Viper Room.

Seraphina (c) with Tommy Lee and John 5

Why “Labyrinth” Fits This Moment

Seraphina has built her catalog by refusing to stay in one lane — rock, pop, and heavy metal, with the kind of direct, generational honesty that made “Chaotic Lover” and “Bruises” land. “Labyrinth” arrives as the next step in that run: a rock performance contender that puts a young Chicago artist who grew up in The Hype Magazine’s coverage into a GRAMMY conversation.

The FYC campaign, in its own words, introduces her music to a wider industry audience. For readers who have followed her here since high school, it reads a little differently: the wider industry audience is catching up to a file we opened three years ago.

What Is Next

Seraphina is also set to star in a film called Zamindar, according to information provided for this piece. Further film details — including role and timing — are still to be confirmed and will be updated once verified.

For now, the congratulations stand on their own: from Chicago Academy training rooms to the Viper Room and Whisky A-Go-Go, from a Twista collaboration at 15 to a first-round GRAMMY FYC campaign for “Labyrinth.”

Congratulations, Seraphina. And to everyone else just now discovering her: welcome. We saved you a seat. We have been here since 2023.

Follow Seraphina on TikTok and Instagram at @seraphina.sanan, and watch “Labyrinth” on YouTube.

The post Seraphina Is a GRAMMY FYC Contender for ‘Labyrinth’ appeared first on The Hype Magazine.