After speaking with Grammy president Neil Portnow on the red carpet of last night’s American Music Awards, EW reported that there was ongoing discussion about changing the rules to make the phenomenally successful Lady Gaga eligible for this year’s Best New Artist award, even though her nomination for “Just Dance” at last year’s ceremony would technically rule her out.
A representative for the Recording Academy contacted us today to clarify that there will in fact be no rule change for this year’s Grammy Awards, and that Portnow’s statment, in which he said the awards and nominations committee was “looking at ways to figure it out,” was misinterpreted. “First-round ballots were due back in early/mid-October, so it would be extremely challenging to change the rules now with nominations being announced next week,” emailed the rep. “Any changes to be made will be considered after this year’s show and therefore would not affect the current rule, which does disqualify Lady Gaga.”
We apologize for the confusion.
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I just don’t see what the big fuss is. Sure, Gaga has done great this year, but those are the rules that have applied to everyone else. She was nominated last year–therefore she is not a new artist by the Grammy’s standards–therefore she shouldn’t be nominated as one. Here’s to hoping she finds recognition in other categories this year.
You have to admit their standard is stupid though. One person could have released 5 albums previously and still be considered new, while another with a only one single in the previous eligibility year is not new because of a nomination. But the New Artist award is just pointless now. It lost whatever shred of credibility it had when they nominated Jonas brothers over Leona Lewis and Estelle.
Actually, the cut-off is three albums before you’re no longer considered new, which is why the great Phoenix is not eligible to be nominated this year either.
Shelby Lynne had 5 albums under her wings before her nomination. May be they changed that rule.
Since when do the Grammys mean anything? Remember when Steely Dan beat out the Marshall Mathers LP with a half-@$$ed album? How about Jethro Tull’s infamous best Metal performance win over Metallica? What matters is what WE the listeners think about these artists, not a commission of old sacks who think they have a grasp on what’s relevant these days.
True Story!!!
Good cause she’s not anymore. Also, I don’t care what anyone says. If you have released 20 albums with no nominations, then you get more famous… you ARE NOT a new artist. That goes to Shelby Lynn, Kid Rock, etc. The Grammy’s are dumb.
I am no Lady Gaga fan, but hasn’t this Grammy been bestowed upon artists who were not ‘new’ in the past? Just in the past 10 years, Maroon 5 (which minus one member had released music as Kara’s Flowers) and Shelby Lynne (who had been recording for at least 10 years!) won “Best New Artist” Grammys.
Or Lauryn Hill. She won best new artist despite several years of work with the Fugees. That would be akin to nominating George Michael after Wham! or Beyonce after Destiny’s Child.
Not just recording with the Fugees, but WINNING a Grammy as a member of the group.
After all this, I just wonder if Lady Gaga’s chief producer, RedOne is going to be nominated for Producer Of The Year. He produced “Just Dance”, “PokerFace” and “Bad Romance”, and has worked with a slew of other artists that failed to copy Gaga’s chart success like the Backstreet Boys and Cassie. If he isn’t nominated for Producer of The Year, then the Grammy shave officially become irrelevant this year in my book!
The rules are the rules. However, it is insane to think that anyone BUT Gaga could be the best new artist this year. There just hasn’t been anyone who has changed the musical/pop cultural landscape like she has. And, on top of that, released five amazing singles and two albums that are pop masterpieces. WHO ELSE IS EVEN CLOSE TO DESERVING to be named the best new artist???
How about a nomination for David Cook? He has a platinum album( the 13th highest selling album of the year and top-selling true new artist on that list), two platinum singles and another single that’s still rising, plus he’s been on a ten month marathon tour that continues to sell out venues.
Actually, David Cook is NOT a “true new artist”…he recorded an album in 2005/2006 as David Cook.
Their new slogan should be “The Grammys: Moving further and further towards irrelevancy every year!”
haha. how true. look at last year’s boatload sweep by Robert Plant and Allison Krauss. Both are great respectable artists. But I don’t know one person who really thought they deserved freakin’ RECORD OF THE YEAR for, what was it? “Please Read the Letter”? Who has even HEARD that on the radio? No offense Allison, I absolutely LOVE you, but RECORD of the YEAR should go to the single song that made the most difference that year.
True story! I felt the same way when whatever that Norah Jones-Ray Charles duet won in the same category. I had never heard it before and haven’t heard it since.
I guess if you buy into top 40 that plays the same stupid songs over and over.
I agree with Jalyn;although I’m not an American Idol watcher, I’ve been curious enough to catch two David Cook shows, and he is amazing!
Platinum album, two platinum songs should speak for themselves, right?
The Grammy’s are voted for by people who are actually in the industry. I don’t get where the winners should be about the crap that is on the radio. Just because you’ve not heard of it, doesn’t make it not the best song out there. Instead, question your radio station for being the same as every radio station and not daring to diverge.
I agree! All these folks pontificating about how Lady Gaga is being robbed and that nobody else is worthy of a Grammy nod in this category need to calm down. This time last year, she was barely on peoples’ radar, and didn’t win the one Grammy she was nominated for! I have quit listening to the local pop stations, and in turn have unearthed lots of musical gems that would probably never grace Top 40 airwaves. But if they did, who’s to say everyone wouldn’t be fawning over them as they are Gaga? The music industry spotlights a very small fraction of the talent out there, mostly what they will gain profit from. Perhaps some of the Grammy-winning
music that most refer to as “mistakes” are really higher quality efforts that lazy listeners aren’t willing to give a chance.
Good point. There is a whole world outside of Top 40. There are a lot of hardworking artists out there that support themselves by heavy touring schedules and selling their own merchandise. They don’t have to perform in their underwear, hire dancers, or hide behind masks to get people to come to their shows or sing to multiple pre-recorded music tracks. Yet they still have a career and they have fans that love their music.
Maybe Gloriana will take the win!
Whitney Pastorek is going to be fired from EW when they realize that she didn’t write this story about vampires OR homos.
1958 winner-Bobby Darin (had a huge top 10 hit in 1957 with “Splish Splash”)
1962 winner-Robert Goulet (appeared on the 1960 cast album for “Camelot”, nominated for a Grammy that year)
1964-The Beatles (new to the U.S., but already stars in Europe, where “Love Me Do” had broken out as a hit in ‘63)
1969- Crosby, Stills & Nash (comprised of former members of the bands The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, and The Hollies)
1970-The Carpenters (first album released in 1969, “Ticket To Ride” charted on the hot 100 that year)
1971-Carly Simon (recorded with sister Lucy as folk duo The Simon Sisters, charted single, “Winkin’, Blinkin’ & Nod”, 1964)
1974-Marvin Hamlisch (questionable: he’d been a successful songwriter since the mid-sixties before recording as a credited artist.)
1977-Debby Boone (recorded with her sisters as “The Boones” two years earlier.)
1984-Cyndi Lauper (member of Blue Angel, album released in 1980)
1987-Jody Watley (member of Shalamar for more than a decade, previous Grammy nomination)
need I continue?
Jody Watley was in Shalamar for 7 years, as a back up and not over a decade for starters.She was not a feature in that group, unlike a Beyonce, Chaka Khan, etc who were the lead of groups. Secondly, Best New Artist establishes an identity for that artist. So if you were in a group or languishing in the underground for several albums and then breakthrough commercially establishing an individual identity you are eligible. Case closed.
Gaga, was nominated for Just Dance last year, which was huge, so she can’t be new this year.
and ps. Shalamar was never a nominee when Watley was in that group. She deserved the win because she established herself, just like Cyndi Lauper and others listed here.
Who cares?
I am so thankful they are not changing the rules. No doubt, Gaga is THE artist of the year, but she indeed got nominated already and that’s all there is to it.
What the Grammys SHOULD change is the live telecast, as it started to become the most useless “awards” show produced seeing that there are like 108 categories and the tlecast only bothers to show respect to like TWELVE of them. Stop inviting irrelevant artists to perform songs not even nominated and give out MORE AWARDS. The Grammy Awards should go back to what they used to be, when ALL MAJOR CATEGORIES were honoured live on television.
Either that or change the name from the Grammy Awards to the Grammy Show. Because if it’s an awrds show, there should be more acceptance speeches than performances.