One Reason I Didn't Watch The Gramophone Awards

Check out the headline today…

Dixie Chicks emerge from controversy to win album of the year at Grammy Awards

Doesn't it just give you warm fuzzies to think of all the people who exercised their freedom of speech by stepping up and giving the Chicks such accolades?

The Dixie Chicks, virtually shunned by the country music industry after lead singer Natalie Maines criticized U.S. President George W. Bush in the lead-up to the Iraq war, emerged triumphant at Sunday's Grammy Awards, picking up five trophies, including record, song and album of the year.

"I'm ready to make nice," said Maines, referring to the group's defiant anthem, "Not Ready To Make Nice." "I think people are using their freedom of speech here tonight with all of these awards."

With all the hoopla and anti-war rhetoric in the news about the Grammy's today, you would think they were Nobel Peace Prize winners or something… Oh… Wait… My mistake. That was former President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Jimmy Carter who won the Grammy last night…

Let's think back for a moment shall we?

How did the controversy begin? We all know it began when Natalie Maines insulted our President while standing on-stage overseas, alienating country music fans everywhere.

How did those fans react? They boycotted Dixie Chicks concerts, they burnt their CD's, they asked country music stations to stop playing their music.

And finally…

How did the Chicks emerge from the controversy? They recorded a new album with an angry message, and won five Grammy awards. Huh?

How can anyone claim that they have "emerged" from the controversy? The Grammy's are awarded by a select group of their peers, not the fans. The Grammy's are not dependent on radio play, record sales, or even talent. It's all a matter of who knows who and whose back gets scratched.

The recording industry's most prestigious award, the GRAMMY, is presented annually by The Recording Academy. A GRAMMY is awarded by The Recording Academy's voting membership to honor excellence in the recording arts and sciences. It is truly a peer honor, awarded by and to artists and technical professionals for artistic or technical achievement, not sales or chart positions (GRAMMY Awards Process). The annual GRAMMY Awards presentation brings together thousands of creative and technical professionals in the recording industry from all over the world.

There is no question the Dixie Chicks are talented musicians, but they've hardly emerged from any controversy.