Katy Perry has already tweeted a stream of thank yous today after Teenage Dream got a Grammy nomination for Album Of The Year. It’s a smart move, since judging from backlash Katy’s victory got on the Twittersphere, it doesn’t seem likely she’s in shooting range of winning (shouting “hell yes!” before clasping her hands in prayer probably won’t help either). But is it really so strange that she got a nod? Here are five reasons this shouldn’t be so much of a surprise.
- Anything released after September 30th wasn’t eligible. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy? Not eligible. Shakira‘s highly praised Sale El Sol? Not eligible. Single of the year nominee Cee-Lo‘s album? Not eligible. Kings Of Leon? Not eligible. 2009 Grammy nominee Jamey Johnson‘s Top 10 critic’s pick The Guitar Song? Released just two weeks before the cut-off. Meanwhile, Song Of The Year nominee Jay-Z’s The Blueprint 3 barely made the September 1st ’09 cut off—we’re impressed voters remembered it was eligible for Best Rap Album!
- She’s hardly the first bubblegum act to be nominated. Really, is this any more absurd than The Backstreet Boys being nominated in 2000 for Millenium? Or The Black Eyed Peas for The E.N.D. last year? In 1990, they nominated MC Hammer and Wilson Phillips. No offense to any of the esteemed artists above, but their journey to the Rock’n'Roll Hall Of Fame will probably be a long one despite the NARAS accolades.
- If an indie label can get an album nominated, anything goes. The Arcade Fire may have hit #1 with their nominated album The Suburbs, but the Grammy nominators are industry bigwigs—few benefit from an album on a independent label based in North Carolina getting on the shortlist. Katy’s critical maligned album getting some love could just be a symptom of the industry’s sea change.
- Check out Katy’s competition for Best Pop Vocal Album. Ignoring former Album of the Year nominee John Mayer aside (and you know he’s pissed about this), do you really think Justin Bieber or Susan Boyle deserved a nomination more? And considering that the Grammy’s usually go Grandma, it’s actually impressive they didn’t toss the nod to Boyle instead.
- Cult rockers young and old rarely have a chance. You could argue that Janelle Monae, Big Boi, Spoon, LaRoux, Neil Young, Tom Petty, Vampire Weekend, Them Crooked Vultures and many others deserved recognition more. But the last baby boomer rocker to get a nomination (ignoring Robert Plant‘s country move) was Paul McCartney in 2004. And there’s no way any of the fresher folks were going to squeeze in alongside the aforementioned Arcade Fire. The stars were just in Katy’s favor!
[Photo: Getty Images]
