Grammy Award

A Grammy Award (originally called Gramophone Award), or Grammy, is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The annual presentation ceremony features performances by prominent artists, and the presentation of those awards that have a more popular interest. It shares recognition of the music industry as that of the other performance arts: Emmy Awards (television), the Tony Awards (stage performance), and the Academy Awards (motion pictures).

The first Grammy Awards ceremony was held on May 4, 1959, to honor the musical accomplishments by performers for the year 1958. Following the 2011 ceremony, NARAS overhauled many Grammy Award categories for 2012. The 57th Grammy Awards was held on February 8, 2015, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

History

The Grammys had their origin in the Hollywood Walk of Fame project in the 1950s. As the recording executives chosen for the Walk of Fame committee worked at compiling a list of important recording industry people who might qualify for a Walk of Fame star, they realized there were many more people who were leaders in their business who would never earn a star on Hollywood Boulevard. The music executives decided to rectify this by creating an award given by their industry similar to the Oscars and the Emmys. This was the beginning of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. After it was decided to create such an award, there was still a question of what to call it; one working title was the Eddie, to honor the inventor of the phonograph, Thomas Edison. They finally settled on using the name of the invention of Emile Berliner, the gramophone, for the awards, which were first given for the year 1958.

Grammy Award for Best New Artist

The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967. The official guidelines are as follows: "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.

It is sometimes asserted, with varying degrees of sincerity, that winning the award is a curse, as several award winners (particularly from the late 1970s and early 1980s) were never able to duplicate the success they experienced in their debut year. This viewpoint was expressed by former Starland Vocal Band member Taffy Danoff in a 2002 interview for VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders: "We got two of the five Grammys – one was Best New Artist. So that was basically the kiss of death and I feel sorry for everyone who's gotten it since."

National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences

The Recording Academy, also known as The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS), is a U.S. organization of musicians, producers, recording engineers and other recording professionals dedicated to improving the quality of life and cultural condition for music and its makers. The Recording Academy is headquartered in Santa Monica. Neil Portnow is the current president of The Academy.

The Recording Academy, which began in 1957, is known for its Grammy Awards. In 1997, the Recording Academy launched The Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc., which produces the Latin GRAMMY Awards. Michael Greene was the founder and the first President of the Latin Grammys.

History

The origin of the Academy dates back to the beginning of the 1950s Hollywood Walk of Fame project. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce asked the help of major recording industry executives in compiling a list of people in the music business who should be honored by Walk of Fame stars. The music committee, made up of these executives, compiled a list, but as they worked, they realized there were many more talented industry people who would not qualify to be recognized with a Hollywood Boulevard bronze star. The founding committee members included Jesse Kaye, MGM Records; Lloyd Dunn and Richard Jones, Capitol Records; Sonny Burke and Milt Gabler, Decca Records; Dennis Farnon, RCA Records; and Axel Stordahl, Paul Weston, and Doris Day from Columbia Records. This was the start of the Academy and also of the GRAMMY Awards.

Best

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Acronyms

Christina Aguilera

Christina María Aguilera (born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. In the early 1990s, she appeared on television series Star Search and The Mickey Mouse Club. In 1998, Aguilera signed with RCA Records and recorded her self-titled debut album, which was released in 1999. The album was a commercial success in the United States, spawning three U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles—"Genie in a Bottle", "What a Girl Wants", and "Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)", and helped Aguilera win the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. In 2000, RCA released Aguilera's Spanish-language album Mi Reflejo and holiday-theme album My Kind of Christmas. Her 2002 fourth studio album, Stripped, ventured into various genres including hip hop, Latin, and rock, and won a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for its second single "Beautiful".

Aguilera's 2006 fifth studio album, Back to Basics, was inspired by blues, soul, and jazz music of the 1920s-40s. The album peaked at number one on record charts of thirteen countries and won a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for its first single "Ain't No Other Man". In 2010, RCA released Aguilera's electronic-influenced album, Bionic, which failed to match the success of her previous albums; later that year, she starred in the film Burlesque. The following year, Aguilera was featured on Maroon 5's top-ten single "Moves like Jagger" and became an original coach on the U.S. television series The Voice, having since appeared on five of its nine seasons. Her 2012 seventh studio album, Lotus, became the lowest-selling album of her career. However, she later experienced rehabilitated commercial success in 2013, being featured on the top-ten singles "Feel This Moment" and "Say Something", which won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.