The Grammys Best New Artist award does not necessarily go to the best new artist. The Grammy website displays a description for the award that states; “For a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that artist. Note that this is not necessarily the first album released by an artist.” Their definition of the Best New Artist only values when an artist becomes popular, not when an artist starts making recorded music.

“In pop music, the public usually see the results – the hit records, the Grammy Awards performances, the concert tours – but not all the work that goes into getting into the spotlight. And not everyone realizes that, even if you have a lot of talent, chances are you won’t make it,” said Bruno Mars.

New has the connotation of just starting, and some of the artists who win this award are veterans in the music business. To say that the nominees for the Best New Artist are “new” is like saying new and improved bread. These artists like  Fun, Adele and many more have been music artist for many years before they got the award for Best New Artist. I believe that the nominees for this award should actually be new. If the artists are truly new it shows that the society really cares about rising stars to help them become popular.

‘I’ve had my ups and downs, and I definitely have a sense – in America, especially – that once you’ve made your mark and gotten your Rolling Stone piece and your Grammy nomination, that they’re on to the next piece of meat, and they don’t necessarily like to follow the twists and turns of an artistic career,”  said  acclaimed songwriter Rufus Wainwright.

This type of award should be called something else that has nothing to do with the word “new.” The Grammys should still have the award Best New Artist but the winner should actually be new. One of the things I find really strange about the winners is that they always tend to say that this type of award is a curse. It is said that the artist who wins is never able to duplicate the success they experience.