Breakthrough Artist of the Year is a New Zealand Music Award that honours New Zealand music artists for outstanding recordings. Artists who have previously been nominated for a New Zealand Music Award (excluding Critics' Choice Prize and technical awards) or has had a previous album reach the top 20 of the Official New Zealand Music Chart are ineligible. The award was first awarded in 1973 as Best New Artist.
References
New Zealand Music Award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA