Grammy Award
\n
Grammy Awards, presented by the Recording Academy (an association of
Americans professionally involved in the recorded music industry) for outstanding achievements in musical recordings, is one of four major music awards shows held annually (the others being the
Billboard Music Awards, the
American Music Awards, and the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony). However, the
Grammys (usually held in February as the last of the "big three" music awards shows--the others being the BMAs and the AMAs) is the approximate equivalent, in the music world, to the
Oscarss.
Like the Oscars, the Grammys, currently with a total of 105 categories within 30 fields of music (such as
pop,
gospel, and
rap), are voted by peers - in this case voting members of the Recording Academy - not upon popularity (as with the BMAs and the AMAs) but by merit.
The awards are named for the trophy given for them, a small gilded statuette of a
gramophone. The awards ceremony features performances by prominent artists, and some of the more prominent Grammys are presented in a widely-viewed televised ceremony.
The Grammy voters tend to be conservative, and are marketed to by record companies, who place great stock in some types of artists winning Grammys (accurately but cynically put as those which sell to "teenage girls and housewives"). Therefore, the main Grammys tend to go to either well-established acts or those which fall into the above categories. Hence, the Grammys are not taken seriously by some musicians or music fans.
In fact, some of the greatest acts in music history (such as
Elvis Presley and
The Rolling Stones) have only been awarded very few Grammys. On the other hand,
The Beatles have won more Grammys than Elvis and The Stones combined. For example, they won for
1966's
Song of the Year ("Michelle"),
1967's
Album of the Year (
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band), and for
1996's
The Beatles Anthology.
Of the "big three" music awards shows, the Grammys are the highest rated. Some music fans believe that the competition between these awards shows (and the controversies that come with it) only press the need for a unified awards system.
The Grammys currently air on
CBS.
Awards include:\n*
Record of the Year\n*
Album of the Year\n*
Song of the Year\n*
Best New Artist\n*
Grammy Hall of Fame
Alternative
Blues
Children's
Classical
Comedy
Composing and arranging
Country
Dance
Disco
Film/TV/Media
Folk
Gospel
- Best Gospel Performance\n*Best Gospel Performance, Traditional\n*Best Gospel Performance, Contemporary\n*Best Gospel Vocal Performance, Female \n*Best Gospel Vocal Performance, Male \n*Best Gospel Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group, Choir or Chorus\n*Best Soul Gospel Performance\n*Best Soul Gospel Performance, Traditional\n*Best Soul Gospel Performance, Contemporary\n*Best Soul Gospel Performance, Female\n*Best Soul Gospel Performance, Male\n*Best Soul Gospel Performance, Male or Female\n*Best Soul Gospel Performance by a Duo or Group, Choir or Chorus\n*Best Inspirational Performance\n*Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album\n*Best Rock Gospel Album\n*Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album\n*Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album\n*Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album\n*Best Gospel Choir or Chorus Album
Historical
Jazz
Latin
\n*
Best Latin Pop Performance\n*
Best Tropical Latin Performance\n*Best Mexican-American/Tejano Music Performance\n*Best Latin Rock/Alternative Performance\n*Best Tejano Music Performance\n*Best Salsa Performance\n*Best Merengue Performance
Musical Show
Music Video
New Age
Packaging and Notes
Polka
Pop
Production and engineering
R&B
Rap
Reggae
Rock
Spoken
Trad Pop
- Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance
World
Awards by year
Years reflect the year in which the awards were presented, for music released in the previous year.
