Dear Grammy voter,
It's been a while! Hope you're well.
I'm getting in touch, of course, because it's that time again: First-round voting for the 61st Grammy Awards _ in which you and your colleagues in the Recording Academy are sorting out nominations for the music industry's most coveted prize _ opened last week and will run through Oct. 31.
Which means I've got just a few days to help guide your picks with my unsolicited advice.
The most recent ceremony, as I'm sure you remember, was a doozy. After assembling a rather forward-looking set of nominations for the 60th Grammys (which took place in January), you guys reverted to type with a deeply conservative slate of winners headed up by Bruno Mars.
Who is great, by the way! You should definitely go see him play. But handing Mars the awards for album, record and song of the year over the culture-shaping likes of Kendrick Lamar, Luis Fonsi and Lorde? That just demonstrated the academy's attachment to old values _ and its inability (or unwillingness) to judge art using fresh criteria.
So you'll have to forgive me if I think you could use the assistance.
I see you've already taken steps to showcase more new voices _ or to ensure the Grammys remain as "relevant as possible," as you put it in a statement _ by increasing the number of nominees in the major categories.
Now, when nominations are announced Dec. 5, eight acts or titles (instead of five) will compete for album, record and song of the year and best new artist.
If I'm being honest, though, I'm not sure this represents a serious improvement. It kind of feels like a get-out-of-jail-free card _ one likely to result in virtue-signaling nods for acts that stand little chance of actually winning a Grammy.
It also threatens to dilute the prestige of a nomination, as arguably happened when the Oscars began allowing up to 10 films in the race for best picture.
But what's done is done. And hey, speaking of the Oscars, at least you didn't create (and then quickly scrap) a cynical Grammy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Music.
Here, then, are some pointers _ and some warnings _ for the big prizes as well as a few of the smaller categories.
