The GRAMMYs Downsize

The Performance Driven Awards Show Gets a Facelift

The Recording Academy on Wednesday announced a major overhaul of its musical categories that, among other changes, will consolidate a number of awards, eliminate separate awards for male and female vocal performances in the pop, rock, R&B and country genres, and reduce the overall number of categories from 109 to 78, beginning next year.

A number of other formerly distinct categories have been combined or folded into existing ones. A new rule will also allow the academy to suspend and eventually eliminate categories that receive fewer than 25 entries for three consecutive years, and to transfer subsequent submissions in that category into the "next most appropriate category." The changes do not affect the top four categories, album of the year, record of the year, song of the year and best new artist.

The changes, which will be in place for the 54th Grammy Awards next year, implicitly acknowledge a widespread complaint by industry observers and casual fans that the number of categories had become bloated and unwieldy. But at a Wednesday morning news presentation at its Santa Monica headquarters, academy officials repeatedly sought to characterize the changes as a "restructuring" rather than a reduction.

"All categories will remain, they'll just be found in different genres," said President and Chief Executive Neil Portnow. "The message isn't about cutting, it's about changing the way we present the awards. We welcome all artists who make music in the Grammy process, it's just going to look a little different".

Different and STUPID!!! Yeah, I said it!!!