The success of Samsung NXT 2.0, the one-of-a-kind competition created by Billboard and Samsung in which unsigned artists across various backgrounds and sounds competed to stand out as a new-school superstar, was captured across five months of challenges beginning last year and a star-studded finale in February. After Nyla XO was crowned the winner of Samsung NXT 2.0, the singer-songwriter landed on the cover of a special digital issue of Billboard, and is now well on her way to showcasing herself under a brighter spotlight.

That was always the goal of NXT, says Mike Van, president of Billboard – not only for a champion like Nyla XO, but for all of the artists who competed, or were inspired by those who did.

“This partnership with Samsung was borne out of this very genuine idea of supporting creators from all genres,” says Van. “The genesis of NXT was about finding the next social music star — because as we all know, so much engagement takes place on social media platforms, especially on mobile devices, now more than ever. As a result, we thought that there’s no better way to find the next social music star than to partner with Samsung and empower creators with tools that can help them in every step of their process.”

After contenders relied upon devices like Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Flip4 and Buds2 Pro to compete over multiple challenges, the Samsung NXT 2.0 grand finale took place on Feb. 17 at the El Rey Theater in Los Angeles in front of both a packed crowd as well as celebrity judges Natti Natasha, Eric Nam and Tinashe. Seeing the talent of the three finalists – Nyla XO, Julian King and Kyn Rose – onstage during the finale, Van says, crystallized “a perfect partnership between Billboard and Samsung to bring this platform to life.”

Following her victory, Nyla XO said that she felt “so seen in this moment,” especially as a long-aspiring artist. “I’ve walked away with the validation that people see me, the hard work I’ve put in over the years, my heart when I perform, and how my music makes them feel,” Nyla said in a statement. “To be recognized in this way as an artist is incredible!”

Nyla XO joins Bronze Avery, who emerged the champion of the original Samsung NXT competition and was on-hand at the NXT 2.0 finale – with more unsigned artists hopefully joining the winners’ circle in the future.

“It’s something that we also wanted to make sure would be continuous,” says Van. “This is something that both partners are going to continue to support, hopefully for years to come.”