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At the end of last year, I posted a blog about the best new artists of 2010, and had this young lady on my list. However, at the time, I had only a superficial awareness of her material and abilities and therefore foolishly eliminated her in favor of Esmee Denters because I thought she might yet be too obscure. In the weeks that followed, I grew more attentive and as a result significantly fonder of this ultra-talented singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. This sweet looking sister with the old-school Jazz flavour impressed me right away.
So by the time the Grammies rolled around, I was one of the few who did not react with surprise. As a matter of fact, I remarked to my wife that while I didn't think she was famous enough to win yet, she deserved the award for Best New Artist.
Everyone else presumed it would be teen sensation Justin Beiber, and for most people whose musical curiosity never extends beyond Top 40, he was not the only choice, but a perfectly logical one.
So when the nominees were announced as Justin Beiber, Drake, Florence & The Machine, Mumford & Sons and the virtually unknown Esperanza Spalding, the latter would, to most, have been a thousand-to-one shot.
Never the less, the musical authorities of the event possessed the necessary wisdom, and the host would ultimately utter the name of Esperanza Spalding. And all that followed throughout every household in North America was a resounding "WHO??".
Well, not in my house, people! I leapt to my feet, hi-fived my wife and yelled out, "Whodaman??". She agreed that I, in addition to the members of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, was in fact, da Man!
I beg my readers to refrain from writing to lecture me on the many splendid qualities of the other nominees because I am aware of them, and have praised every one of them in at least one article over the last year. I simply mean to point out that this seems to be the one category where the integrity of the Academy never seems to be in question, and the winner never seems to be chosen based on sales, pageantry, or any of the other factors that can sometimes influence these types of decisions. The most critical word in the award's title is neither "best", nor "new", but rather "artist".
As a result, the winners,
and even the nominees in this category always seem to be the most intriguing as well as promising.Here are some "Best New Artist" winners from the last 20 years:
2009 - Adele (Runners up - Lady Antebellum, Jonas Bros.): Hear that? It's silence. Not one of you said, "Who?" like the night she won. Her single Rolling In the Deep is among today's biggest hits.
2008 - Amy Winehouse (Runners up - Feist, Taylor Swift): I heard someone say, "Where?", and that's a legitimate question. She's the Haley's Comet of great artists, but no one disputes the quality of the material she gave us. At least we now know that rumors of her cohabitation with Osama Bin Laden were false.
2006 - John Legend (Runners up - Ciara, Fall Out Boy): One of the only CDs I bought last year was his album, Wake Up, with The Roots. I saw it in a window, walked up to the guy at the counter and said, "What do you know about this CD?". He said, "Awesome, but I haven't heard it yet." To stop my eyes from spinning, he explained, "Man, it's John Legend ...AND The Roots!" I nodded, paid, and never questioned it again. Especially after listening to it.
2003 - Norah Jones (Runners up-Avril Lavigne, John Mayer): I like this lady for so many reasons, but her singing, writing and instrumental abilities are as unquestionable as the musical pedigree of her dad, Ravi Shankar.
2002 - Alicia Keys (runner-up - India Arie, Nelly Furtado): She played classical piano from the age of 7, attended Professional Performing Arts School, graduated as valedictorian at 16, and even attended Columbia until leaving to pursue a music career. In addition to being a righteous hot babe, she did all that before you ever knew who she was. Don't you just hate her?
2000 - Christina Aguilera (runners up - Britney, Macy Gray): Somebody knew something. 11 years later, she's... Christina Aguilera. 'Nuff said.
1999 - Lauryn Hill (runners up - Dixie Chicks, Andrea Bocelli): She married into Reggae royalty, (Rohan Marley), had 5 kids, distanced herself from the music "business", and became super-intense in the weirdest way, but she still writes and records and collaborates with magnificent musicians. Only now she doesn't care if they sell. Cool.
1995 - Sheryl Crow (Runners up - Counting Crows, Green Day): She has performed with Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Pavarotti, Mellencamp, Kid Rock, sting, and many more. She has sold 35 million albums worldwide, and was a recent mentor on American Idol. She's doing okay.
Perhaps Esperanza Spalding may have a harder time reaching the type of commercial success with Jazz that some of these mainstream artists have, but she has years to figure that out. Then again, maybe like Lauryn Hill, she just doesn't care. Either way, I will be listening.
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