How New Is New?

December 6, 2003
By Benito Vergara

I don’t usually pay attention to the Grammies — their irrelevance is notorious, though I do know people who are still from the “she won a Grammy, so her music must be good” school — but this boggles the mind.

From the Grammy website itself:

Best New Artist
(For a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that artist.)

* Evanescence
* 50 Cent
* Fountains Of Wayne
* Heather Headley
* Sean Paul

What do they mean by “public identity?” I mean, 50 Cent already had hits in
the late ’90s, and so has Sean Paul! And Heather Headley won a Tony Award in 1998! Most incomprehensible of all is the fact that the critically acclaimed debut album from Fountains Of Wayne came out in 1996 — heck, I feel like I’ve been humming “Sick Day” forever.

Does “new” not mean “new” anymore? And who exactly constitutes this “public” — the viewers of Total Request Live?

If that’s the case, then let the “Best New Artist Grammy for Guided By Voices” campaign begin.

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2 Responses to “ How New Is New? ”

  1. Happy on December 6, 2003 at 9:20 am

    I’m in.

  2. Romeo on December 6, 2003 at 11:32 am

    “New” is “new” when these artists and their songs become familiar to your music masa (masses) — yes, the folks who think that, since you have a Grammy, you must be good. I’d go out on a limb and say these unsophisticates are the majority of the US music-listening public. I’ve got one foot in there….

    Cheers! Romeo (“You and I Both” by Jason Mraz playing in the background).