Meet Bobby Baskaran, Grammy Voting Member and Mentor
Ever wondered what it’s like to step into the room where the Grammys are held? Bobby takes us behind the scenes of the most prestigious night in music, sharing the magic of walking into the awards and the exclusive world of the Grammy voting committee.
Bobby shares how he became a member of the Grammy voting committee, the proof required to earn a seat at the table and the rigorous process behind nominations. We dive into the details of how votes are cast, how the industry decides who takes home the gold, and what it truly takes to be recognised at the highest level.
Follow us on Facebook "Life As We Know It Podcast"
and Instagram @LifeAsWeKnowIt.Podcast @tonitenaglia @lisacameroncoaching
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Every day brings a new story. Life isn't perfect, but
it's perfectly ours, with raw conversations, inspiring stories and laugh
until you cry moments we hit him.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
I unpack it all and.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Figure it out together, one episode at a time. This
is life as we know it, Unfiltered with Tony Tanalia
and Lisa Cameron.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Welcome back to our chat with Bobby Baskron, musician, music producer,
marketing executive and member of the voting committee of the
Grammy Awards. Now, Bobby was at this year's Grammy Awards.
Wait till you hear the stories that he has to
share with us. You were at the Grammy Awards. Yep,
we're going to find out how you got there. But
first of all, just being there in that environment. When
(00:54):
I've been to the what's it called the Arias thing,
I was not gonna say a Chris, but that's the
Radio A Wards. That means not I've been to the
Arias and I know that that was a buzz.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
But but to kind of the Grammys, Oh yeah, that
was very surreal, Like again like how God, there's a
different story. But you walk into that room, the arena,
actually there's stables, send them and you're like, wow, like
you know, level up from where the actual celebrities were,
(01:26):
Like don't you even look at those people. Don't even
stay in their general direction.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Don't acknowledge them unless you're.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Yeah, don't look at them in the eye. So those
first ten like this first section is all tables, and
you walk in the room and you see the stage
and you's got the Grammy Award logo there and even
before you do that, just walking into the room and
you suddenly see all these signage and like that's just
crazy because you know, you watched it for four decades
on TV. Yeah, right, And that's the thing for me,
(01:56):
like burnt into my brain. There's an afternoon thing that happens,
and then there's any anything that happens, and it's like,
oh wow, there's like twenty feet from you. There's like
and the Grammy goes to it's like wow.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
Yeah, because they don't hand out like quite a few
awards before, Yeah, the arias at the time.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Yeah, there's a premier ceremony that happens in the afternoon
of twelve thirty, right, and there's a but sixty awards
that are given out, but it's it's a full fledged
award ceremony. It's like an arena. There's a big stage
house banned has least Cloud from Phil Collins playing. You know,
there's a you know, Noah Jones is there and to
you know rose in front of me is John Legend
and it's crazy.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
You do that sneaky selfies.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
I didn't you. Yeah, I didn't think a selfie. I can't.
I took on the back of John Legends. Yeah, I
saw that one, like John's Yeah. But so the banks, yeah,
like I didn't go that far. I'd like to have been, like,
I want to stay in the room, like we escorted
out by two very burly men. But so there's yeah,
(02:55):
there's sixty awards that are given up. That's not the telecast,
it's live stream. Yeah, and there's like a proper performance
and awards and you know, all the stuff is going on.
I think Pearl Jam was like somewhere at the back
as well. That's the first that's the first kind of
realization that you are in that room where you know,
these awards have been given to and bigger hoards like
big Rap performance, you know Grammy for Best Rap Performance
(03:17):
and Country things or two and Charlie x X has
when none of ane of them bought it to come
on stage. I don't think they've even there in the
room at the time, but you know, but it's amazing
and you're trying to be in the moment and not
just look at it through your phone. Yea, but that
was that. And then there's a bit of a break
and then you move from this is a Pigcork theater
that's across the road, and then they moved to Crypto
cam Arena and there suddenly it's like, oh, suddenly there's security,
(03:39):
and there's like, yeah, you know, there's it's suddenly things
get very serious and you know.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
Security security, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Check that man, frisk him.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
It's like.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Gloves on and yeah. Then it gets very serious and
like wow, okay, so now this is like the telecast.
And then you walk in and you see the stage
with a big Grammy logo and people at tables and
you sit down. Then you kind of looking down and
it's like, oh, there's you know, Billy Eilish and there's
Taylor Swift and then there's like crap that. It's just
(04:18):
very surreal and you have to force yourself to actually
enjoy what is happening as opposed to just having it
fly by as a you know, some room you're in.
Let it kind of actually settle and it was fun
and I hope I still feel that way in Grammys
to come.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Okay, So what we want to get to then is
not anybody can just go to the Grammys. Like, there's
a reason you were at the Grammys. You're one of
the judges voting members.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
I like how you said judges some reason. It sounds
a lot more kind of you know, I decided.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
Yes, But so does that mean you actually vote yes
in the Grammys?
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Do you vote for all of the Grammys or just
so there's.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
There's some categories. So basically what happens is again and
this is a whole the misconception about how Grammys are
actually one or nominated do things like that. There's not
like you know, people think there's like a committee like
for ten people in a room seeing what's going out
and you know who's on tour and who's getting the
views and who's chating. And then kind of shocked.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
Me, like I had to vote for the Arias, so
I know the process in Australia.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Yeah, and then that's not how but that's not how
it happens. So there are I think about twelve thousand
voting members. Yeah, all over the world.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Yeah, well areas.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
But I'm saying for the Grammys there are there, there's
about twelve thousand voting members.
Speaker 4 (05:35):
Yeah, I'm many in Australia.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
I have no idea, but I mean I was nominated.
By the way you become a voting member is two
existing voting members or people of such high repute in
the industry have to nominate you to become a voting member.
So I happen to know two people who said you
should really become a voting member. Yeah, okay, you.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
At these people have note like would we know who
they are?
Speaker 2 (06:02):
If you like? One of them is I mean one
of them is my songwriting partner who actually Sneakybos that
became a voting member the year before I did. And
he was the guy who actually said this is what happens.
And I was like, oh, that's that's it. There's like
a website how to become like okay, it's not you know,
the mystical or you put the hat on from Harry
Potter and you get stuff like that. The mystic of
(06:24):
it was kind.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
Of that's what I think there was asta around.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
And they had to kind of break that down because
of issues that were happening around transparency. So yeah, and
then you know, when two people do it, the Grammy
Recording Academy then sends you an email saying, well, two
of your peers have recommended you to become a voting member.
Here's a link. Click on it like any other website,
(06:49):
and go through the process of registering, telling us why
you think you should write.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
Okay, so you don't automatically, you actually have to actually
have to sell yourself.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Yes, yeah, And there's some criteria depending on how you've
you know, so you can become a voting member as
a singer or as a songwriter, or an engineer or
a producer. So depending on what kind of pathway you've chosen,
there's certain criteria. So if you're a singer or a songwriter,
you have to have X amount of release. I thinks
twelve or fourteen releases.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
That for me it was just being a music director.
How was the music director?
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Yeah, there you go.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
You're voting for the areas that's so.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Like fourteen releases that then you've been credited as that thing,
as a singer, or a songwriter or a producer, whatever
it might be. And then other things it's like, you know,
here's my all the press that's been of me, and
here's all these other websites and this and that and so,
and then you have to like make a case for
yourself as to why you think you'd be and then yeah,
(07:46):
you apply and then it goes in like into the ether,
and nothing happens. You don't hear anything. He's like a
little confirmation Kim, thank you for your submission. Yeah, nothing happens.
Like it's kind of in March or something, it happened.
And then one morning in June you wake up and
me saying, you know you're in Congratulations you've been doctor
to the Academy as a voting member, and click here
(08:07):
to kind of complete your profile. And it's like, you know,
it's like it's that like a website doesn't happen. Yeah,
Like you get all this access and their comm steams
is off the charts. Really, oh they're on like the moment.
Then you get all these Over the course of the
next two or three days, you get all these emails
going here's the information you need, here's a whole bunch
of templates you can use to announce on your social
(08:27):
media that you are now a voting member. You know, ye,
filling the here's the whole way your face can go,
and here's the do's and don't here's the ethical obligations
you have, and that's it. And then you're a voting member.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
So do you write all the categories?
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Yeah, So what happens is there's two rounds of voting.
So the first round of voting, I things sometimes in
October you say, okay, voting is now open, right, and
then you log on to your account like you would
hot mail, Gmail, and there's a big button that says
voting is now open. You pick on it, and there's
the top six seting categories, the big categories like a
(09:00):
song of the the best new artist. Everybody gets the
vote on those. You can vote on all of those things.
And then other than that, you've got to pick only
four categories. And they encourage you to pick categories that
you are familiar yet yeah, like me picking the rap category. Yeah,
I'm not going to really know. No one wants to
(09:26):
hear that. You will actually reduced your podcast following. But
that's the thing. So then I picked the categories that
I felt I could be and you can be strategic
about it as well. It's like, you know, there's a
category that I'm going to enter music in next year. Yeah,
maybe I'll go and.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
That category against yeah. No.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
So also you can kind of make friends with those people.
That's another thing. We'll get it how it actually works,
like yeah, but so so yeah, And then you you
go there and it's like you logan like song of
the Year. There's a list of people and it's like
the great equalizer. It's not based on how many views
you have and how many tours you did, and how
(10:07):
many much money you made and who you are and
how many graham nothing.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
Listening to this as a piece of art, you.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Have to judge it dumby okay ideally, So it's nothing.
It's just like a list, like a spreadsheets, like a
person's name. Click here to listen to the song.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
So, how many sorry you're doing song of the year.
How many songs are in there?
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Like six hundred?
Speaker 4 (10:27):
Oh my god, like six did they narrow it down to?
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Like so your first round of voting, your fist round
of voting, is everybody who's in the ballot. You can
be in the ballot as well, like you can put
a song into the.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
Grad Well, I was thinking, do you nominate yourself at
the ballot or so many so.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
You can so you can know, No, you I've had
music in the in the ballot two years back, even
before I was a voting member. Mistake the greatest you
can and everyone does. Yeah, So you could just submit
to your music to That's how it works. So if
your music has been released in a certain eligibility period,
(11:06):
you have to actually submit it. It's not like so
even Taylor Swift is submitting her music, I'd like to
submit the album in this category, in this category, of
these songs in that category, of that song and the
duo thing. You have to actually submit it. They're not.
It doesn't just get.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
Tribody just says we're going to put these in this category.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
And that's the thing. So then there's the first yeah,
and then there's a first kind of filtering by the
Grammy team. There's a team of people there, but they're
not making artistic decisions. They're just listening to it to see,
maybe from a technical perspective, if it actually is all together,
and also to make sure you've put it into the
right category. Yeah, yeah, right, I could put the song
(11:43):
into the gospel category and be saying horrific things, but
I'm just saying I wouldn't.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
I wouldn't put that past.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
But that's the reason why. So they're not making artistic decisions.
They're basically just saying, is this in the right category?
And then they do all that sorting it out, and
then then when you go in and it's just like
a great equalizer, it's like a list of things. It's
like your song on your song in my song and
Taylor Swift and Rudomas and you know, Christine's song and
my wife's song, and you just have to listen to
(12:11):
them and go, I choose out of this, who are
my top six?
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Yeah, six hundred songs though?
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Yeah, but is.
Speaker 4 (12:19):
It really is it really an equalizer? Because I'm so
curious about how much do you think is actually political
and how much do you think it is actually based
on artistic marriage.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
Well, look, it comes down to how as an individual,
how you want to go about it this and there's like,
you know, there's a lot of information there when before
you even vote, because I was voting for the first time,
I went watched all the videos and you know, and
they're like, yeah, you know, take what you're doing very
seriously because what you're doing has the potential to change
(12:50):
somebody's life. Yeah, exactly, the moment you have that if
you're nominated for Grammar like forget winning. Yeah, winning is nice,
but whether you're nominated or you win, that is now
how you are referred to for the rest of your life. Yes, yeah, yeah,
Grammy nominated artists, Grammy winning artists, yep, you know, just
people who have been nominated, fosters and so.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
Just having that nomination yea beginning.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
You listen to it and you go, wow, yeah, you're right.
You know. So I took a lot of ethics into it,
and I said, I am going to kind of listen
to a least a few seconds of each thing, and
you know, and I hope I have that same like,
you know, ten years from now. I kind of actually
go about it. But I tried to be as you know,
blind to the name. I think they shouldn't actually have
(13:35):
the name. Not what I mean, but that itself is
going to give you once.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
Yeah, you're going to have bias part of a decision
made exactly.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Yeah, you know, you're gonna have a little bias already,
but ideally, in an ideal world, you're meant to look
at it as a piece of art, like, that's the
song worthy of being in my top.
Speaker 4 (13:54):
Six because I thought Kendrick lamar winging winning song of
the Year. I was like, where's the key change? Where's
the key change in that song? Like, and you know,
we've been sharing a couple of posts on this key changing.
It was just such shame has bullets song with the Yeah,
but it was really interesting because that was a disc
(14:14):
song about Drake. So I was really curious about the
people that are voting. How many are Kendrick fans and
how many are.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Well, look, I said, I'm sure there's that thing that happens,
but you know you're going to just vote for somebody
even without listening to the song, because of course, of
course that's going to be there. You know, there's but
there's going to be also a lot of people like
me who are trying to be fair. Yeah, and China
light maybe on someone who isn't that well known, right
(14:47):
and yeah. So you do all this and you think
some I think some categories of it top eight, some
have six. You go through all that stuff and so.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
If you're going through six hundred songs, you have to
listen to them all and then aside your top six.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
Not really, I mean ideally, but that's never going to
happen in the forget it for second, so you know,
but then also you might actually choose six or eight
before you even hit the end of the list, and
then it's like, well, if your name started with.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
S say that the radio awards, I don't enter anymore,
right T T Like they don't get to me. My
ratings are like in Melbourne, like I had one year
I was rating, I had a survey where was like
sixteen seventeen percent. I didn't even get a look in
at the radio.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
Wats she's number one.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
I don't think she actually quite internalizes that fact. It
comes to me for Rockstadva y Ross Walking.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
But I get, you know, like you get if your
name is at the end of the alphabet because it's alphabeticals,
so you know, dealor Swift is both ways, Like.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
It doesn't matter if they sought to you by last
name or first name, is still going to be like
I'm hoping I'm going to be.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
Don't put down as Robert put a Bobby.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Yeah, but that's the thing, right, So you choose all
of this and you pick your thing, and then you
say submit and then bang it's gone. It's like, wow,
how did that take? You Claimbax? Two days?
Speaker 3 (16:25):
Really for me? Solid two days?
Speaker 2 (16:27):
Well, not there, but a good four or five hours
each day. Okay, but that's because I was trying to
be you're doing the right thing, like I want to
listen to songs.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
He'll cheat next year, next okay, So this is what
I'm dying to know. I'm dying it's okay, album of
the Year. Right. So I'm a big Beyonce fan, and
her album Cowboy Carta is actually one of my favorite
of her albums. However, the controversy leading up to that.
In that last year at the Grammys, Jay Z made
(16:58):
a speech and you know, basically, because Beyonce is the
most nominated artist of all time, she's one of the
most Grammys of all.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Time and billion dollars in the bank, but he's you.
Speaker 4 (17:10):
Know, he basically said to the Grammys, you know you've
given her all these awards, but you still haven't given
her album the year. It doesn't make sense. So immediately
after that speech, I thought to myself, well, sure she's
gonna win it, right, because he's called them out.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
I could see myself starting to put myself into trouble
as you're talking. As you're talking a stern phone call
from the recording academy. No, but I get what you mean.
I get what you're saying. In like the surprise wasn't
There was surprise, but there was also like, yes, see
why that's happened. Right, But I'll tell you something, right,
I mean, on the surface, right from a systems point
(17:47):
of view, this is what I discovered. You cannot rig
the Grammys in that sense.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
There's too many people voting and it's all audited.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
You know, you cannot. And that's why when people say, oh,
you know, my favorite artists in the area and day.
You know, my niece was so disappointed that Grande wasn't
like she loves her, it's like, oh, you know, it's like,
you can't actually rig. So when the all the Grammy snub,
it's not like ten people in a room deciding. And
it doesn't mean your artist had a bad album or
record or whatever it was. It just means that in
that category there were other people who also had music out,
(18:20):
and your odds are now dramatic because if you look
at that top thing, if in the one category, if
you've got you know, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga and
Beyonce and Sabrina Carpenter and and you know Kendrick come
on like that itself, like you know, song of the Y.
I was like, okay, this is actually a proper competition.
I would pick any one of those songs, and I did.
(18:42):
I picked one of those songs, but I picked on
But again, that's like how it happens, right, So it
just means that enough people voted for the other person,
so it's not like you can't take the personally. And
that was a big issue for them, with the Weekend
calling them out and going, I was snubbed for the Grammys.
(19:02):
And he doesn't know anymore, no, but that was the
coolest part of what happened. So Harvey Mason Junior is
the CEO. Halfway through the Grammys, he came on and
he said, you know, I woke up one morning and
I saw this and on the screen behind him it's
all these screenshots of news reports of the Weekend calling
out the Grammys, and I was like, wow, that's that's
a ballsy thing to do. When he've got his spears around,
(19:24):
you're calling him out. You're calling out the Weekend in
the most public forum. And he was like, but the
way he said it was but it made us think
about what we wanted, what we should change, so that
our artists didn't feel like that. So that's when they
actually started to make things very transparent and talk about
how And that's why I'm allowed to talk about how
the process happens, because we want transparency. And now we've
(19:47):
and he said, now we've added you know, three thousands
more people of color are now voarding members, and thousands
more women and thousands more younger people are now members,
and blood he kept on and he was like, and
so now that I believe we have done all this,
ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to welcome four time Grammy
(20:07):
Award winning artists The Weekend performed and we were like,
holy crap, he's here, Like that was the most So
that's what's how he was introduced. He said, so now
it's a pleasure to welcome back recording a watch and
we were like, they're going, holy crap, how did they
(20:29):
keep that? Can you imagine what they would have had
to do to keep that and we were but that's
how it works. And you know, like and that's the
whole thing. But voting in the grammy iss like people
just you know, part of what I wanted to talk
to you, like to dispel those myths. Yeah, it's not
it is, you know. But of course, now look I've
said that, right, it's all democratic and but there is
(20:51):
a way to get nominated. There is. There are ways
you can further your chances of being nominated. There are
ways of furthering your chances of being a winner.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
Can you tell so when Lisa and nom Yeah, it's.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
Basically it's awareness. It's pr that's all it is. It's screwed,
but that's why it helps so much money. But that's why,
and that's the that's the terrible part of it. It
Sometimes it feels like how good the song is, it's
only now that I know what happens, it feels like
that's only twenty or thirty percent of the reason that
(21:26):
you could win, which probably answers your question. Yeah, it's
pr right, it goes back to what you were saying.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
So that would be the sign with the country album
because she one country Beyonce one country album. Didn't you
like that? Was like whoa, yeah, yeah, that's right.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
But but again, see it it comes into what you
were saying. When you're looking at the list of you know, okay,
song of the album. Those are extensive categories. Like there's
nothing stopping you from putting your album into songs of day.
It'll be there on the ballot. Yeah, one of those
six hundred when you're going through the list of when
you're going through the list of your TV.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
Yeah, I was going to put down the laser's name.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
You find someone, find someone whose name starts with.
Speaker 3 (22:04):
A son, but his sir names Watson, give.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
Them another name. But I'm just saying so, you know,
so yes, so when you're going down that list of people,
you're gonna hit fatigue at some point, yes, yep. So
who are you gonna look for? You're gonna start looking
for familiar names. So there are campaigns that people run
for it's called they're called f y C campaigns for
your consideration, and you are allowed to do those.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
Do you do those directed at the judges or do
you do those directed members? And that's what's judges calling
you a judge members?
Speaker 4 (22:36):
Yeah, before but that's what you programmys was about these
campaigns directed towards the voting members, and.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Board has issues that are just the magazine has issues
that are dedicated.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
To me in front of you.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
And then you're like, so you have email. You're basically
on an email list. Every person has starting to and
that's why when you kind of do.
Speaker 3 (22:56):
They email you, Oh.
Speaker 4 (22:57):
Yeah, oh yeah, I think I've say every.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
Day there's like three females coming, only three every day.
This is I'm talking about this like over the course
of two months leading into boarding.
Speaker 4 (23:14):
It's music industry, and this is a life changing nomination,
like you were saying, And it's money. It's huge, right,
It's a massive And I loved Chapel Roan's speech that
was fantastic about you're making all this money off us
we need healthcare and we need better support systems and
everything like that, because that's what we see. You know,
when you talk about the mystique and everything like that,
(23:35):
it's always felt like this select group of people.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
But it's publicity obviously. You know, you take a big artist,
you take killer. She wouldn't have to do a lot
of dedicated pr to raise awareness that her music is
in the ballot. It wouldn't be a lot of that,
but for most other people, you're just trying to put
as much out in the right places, and there's certain
things allowed to do you kind of you can you
(23:59):
can send people like you can message people on Facebook
and go, hey man, I'm you know, I know you're
a voting member. Yeah, and I've got music in this category.
I'd love you to consider it. And that's all you
have to say.
Speaker 3 (24:11):
Yeah, it's like can I send you candy? Can I
send you no?
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Like what's your bank account information.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
Coming?
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Because because that's bribery. Yeah, yeah you can do that,
so you know, but you can, like you know, not
you can. You're not also meant to kind of have
groups where you start soliciting votes from each other. And
somebody did that, somebody I know telling me that people
they know have the spots, like a WhatsApp group right
with like fifty people, Yeah, and like here's my music,
(24:42):
you vote for me and novel for you. And they
were having these conversations and then someone who spent it
there and screenshotted everything and said it the Recording Academy.
All those guys got like warnings.
Speaker 3 (24:50):
And you know, like just dumped out straight away.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
So they are kind of You've got to be very
careful about how you do. There are ways you can
talk to people, but it comes down to that how
much awareness, how memorable can you make your name and
the name of your album and the song or whatever
it is to the people who are actually voting in
your category. And I would think that that would work
in the genres that's going to be really difficult in
(25:15):
like song of the Year, an album of the Year,
that's going to be a big person Like I could
spend a million dollars on pr the chances of me
winning album of my first goal, Yeah, well it could happen,
but I'll be very surprised. And traditionally that's what you see.
(25:35):
You see that happening, Like you know, it's always it's
never going to be like, who is that person? I've
never heard of him. It's very rarely that it's always
going to be one of the you know, but Tailor
Swift didn't win anything. She had a bang, She's just
finished the two billion the tour. She doesn't care. She's like,
(25:55):
I've got home.
Speaker 4 (25:57):
It was definitely Beyonce's I mean and and I want
to ask you, what did you think about Beyonce winning
Country Album of the Year and what that is now
doing for country music.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
Well, I heard the album and I don't think it's
country first of all, right, and I'm probably getting deep
pool for saying that, but it's just being honest. I'm
not I don't think it's I don't think it's people.
I don't think I don't have any issues with Beyonce
as the artist being in the genre. People change genres
(26:30):
all the time. Deals with jumped.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
From country to the exactly people do it?
Speaker 2 (26:34):
Post Malon does everyone does. I'm not a lot of
people faulting her for just trying to be in the genre.
I don't agree with that. You're welcome to do it.
Come on, no one should keep that do it? But
it's I don't. I just don't think it was a
country album. It was just a very But does a country?
Speaker 4 (26:51):
Does country need to expand and evolve?
Speaker 2 (26:55):
I think you then have to really understand what the
fundamentals of country are.
Speaker 3 (26:59):
Because you can then say that the same about you know,
pop and rock and yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Some fundamental things that people identify with country. Right, So
there's a particular sound, there's a sound, there's a certain
kind of you know, there's certain sounds you expect to hear, Yes,
you can.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
Have and even vocally, even vocally, there's a storytelling.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Element to the song. And you know, my wife left me,
and my girlfriend left me, and my dog.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
Left me, and I drink at the bar.
Speaker 2 (27:27):
Yeah, I mean, you know, look, there's certain narvatives. But
I look, whatever you identify as the thing that you
would hear a song and know it's country, there's some
things right. So I just don't think it was a
country album. It was just a very mixed and see
like a hundred people working on that album, and to me,
it had no cohesiveness. Is probably gonna put a hit
(27:47):
out on me for saying, but you know, but I
just didn't feel, like I said, there were a lot
of people who had an issue with just her being
in the category. That's I don't have that problem because
I jump across the.
Speaker 4 (28:01):
Time Taylor Swift postmline. We're seeing so many artists over
the country.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
I don't I don't think that should be a gatekeeping issue.
If you really believe in the genre and you love
it so much and you create a record that pays
homage and you kind of play by some of their rules. Yeah,
that's fine, go for it. But I just don't think
it was a country album. And that's why I was surprised,
as Like, as a musician, I think that's the thing
I want to hear. Country or rock. You've got to
hear the band, You've got to hear people in that song. Yes,
(28:29):
it can be beautifully produced and can have all these
other kind of cross genre electronic elements there, but if
I don't, it can't sound like a box of soap. Right,
Country albums, great country records don't sound like a box
of soap. You can hear. Yeah, they might be well produced,
but you can hear the people in the in the music.
And I think that's a big thing of rock and country,
(28:52):
rap and pop to an extent. I want to hear
the person singing, and I want to hear that as
a person. Yes, then I want to hear that there's
a person behind the music. But everything else can be whatever.
I don't care. It could be acoustic or whatever it
might be. But I think with rock and country, you
want to hear, like, can six people on stage play
that album? Right?
Speaker 3 (29:13):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (29:14):
And I don't think that's the case for that Beyonce
record be proved wrong. She probably do it too and
pull it off.
Speaker 4 (29:21):
But it's just such an in conversation because obviously she
was the first black woman to win a Grammy for
a country album.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
Yeah I believe so, yeah.
Speaker 4 (29:31):
Yeah, so you know she's making history in that respect,
and then what doors does that open for other you know,
dream of Color and you know, was it was the
award more to make a statement or was it?
Speaker 2 (29:46):
I don't know, I don't I don't think it was.
I think she just decided to make a country album
because why not. She's Beyonce, And I don't think she
was she.
Speaker 3 (29:54):
Was surprised to win.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
She looked surprised, yea. But yeah, yeah, I don't think
she had any of those I'm paving the way for again,
this is my opinion. I don't think she thought that
too much.
Speaker 3 (30:08):
I'm going to open the door for not the reason
she did.
Speaker 2 (30:11):
No, no, no, it's like I like country music. I'm
going to make an album because why not? And that
was it. But I just think, look like you're Beyonce,
You've got like whatever, forty or fifty Grammys or whatever.
It is some absurd amount of Grammys and good on her.
You've earned that, that's fine, you've got a billion dollars
in the bank. I don't know. I just thought you
were kind of taking the spot away from someone who
(30:32):
could really use that grammy.
Speaker 4 (30:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
I get what you're saying, to shine that light on
a person who's for whom that grammy could change their life.
Speaker 3 (30:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:42):
I think if you've reached a certain point in your career,
I don't think I think you shouldn't even be allowed
to put your music in for consideration when I come
to power.
Speaker 3 (30:50):
Right, Yeah, that's okay, that's interesting if you've won.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
Something I don't know more. Yeah, I think so. It's
like being a billionaire, right, you make a billion dollars
and that's it. You can't make any more money, and we'll,
you know, put a park bench shop in your honor
and everything else goes to, you know, the community. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
I think it should be that. But again, you know,
we're in a capitalist world and that's how it is.
(31:17):
But I really think, you know, people like who are
so accomplished and they want grammag and they've achieved those
things and they don't really need this to further their
career at Yeah, but there are so many artists. I
saw people like Chapel Room, people like yes, I've been
a carpenter, who are kind of starting to kind of
create this career for themselves. Yeah, one hundred percent, fine,
go for it. But yeah, I mean there was a
long winded way of answering your question, I suppose, but.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
You know that, but we got there.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
But I don't even know if I answered it.
Speaker 3 (31:43):
But I again, I didn't even know what the question.
Speaker 2 (31:46):
I think it was. What do I think of Beyonce
winning the country album? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (31:49):
No, but no, but you did think.
Speaker 4 (31:51):
I think there's other moments in history where it makes change.
Because in her speech she just said something about, you know,
don't stay stuck. People will try and put you in
a genre, and you don't have to stick to what
it is. And it's these sort of wins that actually
make people go, I'm not too sure about that whatever,
but it opens up the conversation and braw and then
(32:15):
next year in the country category, we might see a
whole range of other artists that come in and bring
some sort of pop element or something into it, or
we might see more women of color.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
Yeah, so that's just how it's going to be.
Speaker 3 (32:28):
Will Will happen, what happens, Well, there's a nice little
insight into the Grammy Awards voting process.
Speaker 2 (32:34):
Eh.
Speaker 3 (32:34):
In our next episode, we pose the question, is Bobby's
family the Indian Jimmy Barnes' family Wait until you're hear
what some of his family members have achieved in the
music industry.
Speaker 1 (32:45):
You've been listening to Life as we Know It Unfiltered
with Tony Tanalia and Lisa Cameron. If you liked this episode,
please leave us a review or drop a comment on
our socials. We love hearing from you. You can also
come hang out with us on Instagram at Life as
we Know It, dot podcast, and on Facebook at Life
as we Know It. Oh and please see that follow
button on your favorite podcast app. If you're not following
(33:07):
us yet, catch up with you in our next episode.
Every day brings a new story. Life isn't perfect, but
it's perfectly ours, with raw conversations, inspiring stories and laugh
until you cry moments we hit him.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
I unpack it all and.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Figure it out together, one episode at a time. This
is life as we know it, Unfiltered with Tony Tanalia
and Lisa Cameron.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Welcome back to our chat with Bobby Baskron, musician, music producer,
marketing executive and member of the voting committee of the
Grammy Awards. Now, Bobby was at this year's Grammy Awards.
Wait till you hear the stories that he has to
share with us. You were at the Grammy Awards. Yep,
we're going to find out how you got there. But
first of all, just being there in that environment. When
(00:54):
I've been to the what's it called the Arias thing,
I was not gonna say a Chris, but that's the
Radio A Wards. That means not I've been to the
Arias and I know that that was a buzz.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
But but to kind of the Grammys, Oh yeah, that
was very surreal, Like again like how God, there's a
different story. But you walk into that room, the arena,
actually there's stables, send them and you're like, wow, like
you know, level up from where the actual celebrities were,
(01:26):
Like don't you even look at those people. Don't even
stay in their general direction.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Don't acknowledge them unless you're.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Yeah, don't look at them in the eye. So those
first ten like this first section is all tables, and
you walk in the room and you see the stage
and you's got the Grammy Award logo there and even
before you do that, just walking into the room and
you suddenly see all these signage and like that's just
crazy because you know, you watched it for four decades
on TV. Yeah, right, And that's the thing for me,
(01:56):
like burnt into my brain. There's an afternoon thing that happens,
and then there's any anything that happens, and it's like,
oh wow, there's like twenty feet from you. There's like
and the Grammy goes to it's like wow.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
Yeah, because they don't hand out like quite a few
awards before, Yeah, the arias at the time.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Yeah, there's a premier ceremony that happens in the afternoon
of twelve thirty, right, and there's a but sixty awards
that are given out, but it's it's a full fledged
award ceremony. It's like an arena. There's a big stage
house banned has least Cloud from Phil Collins playing. You know,
there's a you know, Noah Jones is there and to
you know rose in front of me is John Legend
and it's crazy.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
You do that sneaky selfies.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
I didn't you. Yeah, I didn't think a selfie. I can't.
I took on the back of John Legends. Yeah, I
saw that one, like John's Yeah. But so the banks, yeah,
like I didn't go that far. I'd like to have been, like,
I want to stay in the room, like we escorted
out by two very burly men. But so there's yeah,
(02:55):
there's sixty awards that are given up. That's not the telecast,
it's live stream. Yeah, and there's like a proper performance
and awards and you know, all the stuff is going on.
I think Pearl Jam was like somewhere at the back
as well. That's the first that's the first kind of
realization that you are in that room where you know,
these awards have been given to and bigger hoards like
big Rap performance, you know Grammy for Best Rap Performance
(03:17):
and Country things or two and Charlie x X has
when none of ane of them bought it to come
on stage. I don't think they've even there in the
room at the time, but you know, but it's amazing
and you're trying to be in the moment and not
just look at it through your phone. Yea, but that
was that. And then there's a bit of a break
and then you move from this is a Pigcork theater
that's across the road, and then they moved to Crypto
cam Arena and there suddenly it's like, oh, suddenly there's security,
(03:39):
and there's like, yeah, you know, there's it's suddenly things
get very serious and you know.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
Security security, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Check that man, frisk him.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
It's like.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Gloves on and yeah. Then it gets very serious and
like wow, okay, so now this is like the telecast.
And then you walk in and you see the stage
with a big Grammy logo and people at tables and
you sit down. Then you kind of looking down and
it's like, oh, there's you know, Billy Eilish and there's
Taylor Swift and then there's like crap that. It's just
(04:18):
very surreal and you have to force yourself to actually
enjoy what is happening as opposed to just having it
fly by as a you know, some room you're in.
Let it kind of actually settle and it was fun
and I hope I still feel that way in Grammys
to come.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Okay, So what we want to get to then is
not anybody can just go to the Grammys. Like, there's
a reason you were at the Grammys. You're one of
the judges voting members.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
I like how you said judges some reason. It sounds
a lot more kind of you know, I decided.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
Yes, But so does that mean you actually vote yes
in the Grammys?
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Do you vote for all of the Grammys or just
so there's.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
There's some categories. So basically what happens is again and
this is a whole the misconception about how Grammys are
actually one or nominated do things like that. There's not
like you know, people think there's like a committee like
for ten people in a room seeing what's going out
and you know who's on tour and who's getting the
views and who's chating. And then kind of shocked.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
Me, like I had to vote for the Arias, so
I know the process in Australia.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Yeah, and then that's not how but that's not how
it happens. So there are I think about twelve thousand
voting members. Yeah, all over the world.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Yeah, well areas.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
But I'm saying for the Grammys there are there, there's
about twelve thousand voting members.
Speaker 4 (05:35):
Yeah, I'm many in Australia.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
I have no idea, but I mean I was nominated.
By the way you become a voting member is two
existing voting members or people of such high repute in
the industry have to nominate you to become a voting member.
So I happen to know two people who said you
should really become a voting member. Yeah, okay, you.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
At these people have note like would we know who
they are?
Speaker 2 (06:02):
If you like? One of them is I mean one
of them is my songwriting partner who actually Sneakybos that
became a voting member the year before I did. And
he was the guy who actually said this is what happens.
And I was like, oh, that's that's it. There's like
a website how to become like okay, it's not you know,
the mystical or you put the hat on from Harry
Potter and you get stuff like that. The mystic of
(06:24):
it was kind.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
Of that's what I think there was asta around.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
And they had to kind of break that down because
of issues that were happening around transparency. So yeah, and
then you know, when two people do it, the Grammy
Recording Academy then sends you an email saying, well, two
of your peers have recommended you to become a voting member.
Here's a link. Click on it like any other website,
(06:49):
and go through the process of registering, telling us why
you think you should write.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
Okay, so you don't automatically, you actually have to actually
have to sell yourself.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Yes, yeah, And there's some criteria depending on how you've
you know, so you can become a voting member as
a singer or as a songwriter, or an engineer or
a producer. So depending on what kind of pathway you've chosen,
there's certain criteria. So if you're a singer or a songwriter,
you have to have X amount of release. I thinks
twelve or fourteen releases.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
That for me it was just being a music director.
How was the music director?
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Yeah, there you go.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
You're voting for the areas that's so.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Like fourteen releases that then you've been credited as that thing,
as a singer, or a songwriter or a producer, whatever
it might be. And then other things it's like, you know,
here's my all the press that's been of me, and
here's all these other websites and this and that and so,
and then you have to like make a case for
yourself as to why you think you'd be and then yeah,
(07:46):
you apply and then it goes in like into the ether,
and nothing happens. You don't hear anything. He's like a
little confirmation Kim, thank you for your submission. Yeah, nothing happens.
Like it's kind of in March or something, it happened.
And then one morning in June you wake up and
me saying, you know you're in Congratulations you've been doctor
to the Academy as a voting member, and click here
(08:07):
to kind of complete your profile. And it's like, you know,
it's like it's that like a website doesn't happen. Yeah,
Like you get all this access and their comm steams
is off the charts. Really, oh they're on like the moment.
Then you get all these Over the course of the
next two or three days, you get all these emails
going here's the information you need, here's a whole bunch
of templates you can use to announce on your social
(08:27):
media that you are now a voting member. You know, ye,
filling the here's the whole way your face can go,
and here's the do's and don't here's the ethical obligations
you have, and that's it. And then you're a voting member.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
So do you write all the categories?
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Yeah, So what happens is there's two rounds of voting.
So the first round of voting, I things sometimes in
October you say, okay, voting is now open, right, and
then you log on to your account like you would
hot mail, Gmail, and there's a big button that says
voting is now open. You pick on it, and there's
the top six seting categories, the big categories like a
(09:00):
song of the the best new artist. Everybody gets the
vote on those. You can vote on all of those things.
And then other than that, you've got to pick only
four categories. And they encourage you to pick categories that
you are familiar yet yeah, like me picking the rap category. Yeah,
I'm not going to really know. No one wants to
(09:26):
hear that. You will actually reduced your podcast following. But
that's the thing. So then I picked the categories that
I felt I could be and you can be strategic
about it as well. It's like, you know, there's a
category that I'm going to enter music in next year. Yeah,
maybe I'll go and.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
That category against yeah. No.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
So also you can kind of make friends with those people.
That's another thing. We'll get it how it actually works,
like yeah, but so so yeah, And then you you
go there and it's like you logan like song of
the Year. There's a list of people and it's like
the great equalizer. It's not based on how many views
you have and how many tours you did, and how
(10:07):
many much money you made and who you are and
how many graham nothing.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
Listening to this as a piece of art, you.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Have to judge it dumby okay ideally, So it's nothing.
It's just like a list, like a spreadsheets, like a
person's name. Click here to listen to the song.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
So, how many sorry you're doing song of the year.
How many songs are in there?
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Like six hundred?
Speaker 4 (10:27):
Oh my god, like six did they narrow it down to?
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Like so your first round of voting, your fist round
of voting, is everybody who's in the ballot. You can
be in the ballot as well, like you can put
a song into the.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
Grad Well, I was thinking, do you nominate yourself at
the ballot or so many so.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
You can so you can know, No, you I've had
music in the in the ballot two years back, even
before I was a voting member. Mistake the greatest you
can and everyone does. Yeah, So you could just submit
to your music to That's how it works. So if
your music has been released in a certain eligibility period,
(11:06):
you have to actually submit it. It's not like so
even Taylor Swift is submitting her music, I'd like to
submit the album in this category, in this category, of
these songs in that category, of that song and the
duo thing. You have to actually submit it. They're not.
It doesn't just get.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
Tribody just says we're going to put these in this category.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
And that's the thing. So then there's the first yeah,
and then there's a first kind of filtering by the
Grammy team. There's a team of people there, but they're
not making artistic decisions. They're just listening to it to see,
maybe from a technical perspective, if it actually is all together,
and also to make sure you've put it into the
right category. Yeah, yeah, right, I could put the song
(11:43):
into the gospel category and be saying horrific things, but
I'm just saying I wouldn't.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
I wouldn't put that past.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
But that's the reason why. So they're not making artistic decisions.
They're basically just saying, is this in the right category?
And then they do all that sorting it out, and
then then when you go in and it's just like
a great equalizer, it's like a list of things. It's
like your song on your song in my song and
Taylor Swift and Rudomas and you know, Christine's song and
my wife's song, and you just have to listen to
(12:11):
them and go, I choose out of this, who are
my top six?
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Yeah, six hundred songs though?
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Yeah, but is.
Speaker 4 (12:19):
It really is it really an equalizer? Because I'm so
curious about how much do you think is actually political
and how much do you think it is actually based
on artistic marriage.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
Well, look, it comes down to how as an individual,
how you want to go about it this and there's like,
you know, there's a lot of information there when before
you even vote, because I was voting for the first time,
I went watched all the videos and you know, and
they're like, yeah, you know, take what you're doing very
seriously because what you're doing has the potential to change
(12:50):
somebody's life. Yeah, exactly, the moment you have that if
you're nominated for Grammar like forget winning. Yeah, winning is nice,
but whether you're nominated or you win, that is now
how you are referred to for the rest of your life. Yes, yeah, yeah,
Grammy nominated artists, Grammy winning artists, yep, you know, just
people who have been nominated, fosters and so.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
Just having that nomination yea beginning.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
You listen to it and you go, wow, yeah, you're right.
You know. So I took a lot of ethics into it,
and I said, I am going to kind of listen
to a least a few seconds of each thing, and
you know, and I hope I have that same like,
you know, ten years from now. I kind of actually
go about it. But I tried to be as you know,
blind to the name. I think they shouldn't actually have
(13:35):
the name. Not what I mean, but that itself is
going to give you once.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
Yeah, you're going to have bias part of a decision
made exactly.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Yeah, you know, you're gonna have a little bias already,
but ideally, in an ideal world, you're meant to look
at it as a piece of art, like, that's the
song worthy of being in my top.
Speaker 4 (13:54):
Six because I thought Kendrick lamar winging winning song of
the Year. I was like, where's the key change? Where's
the key change in that song? Like, and you know,
we've been sharing a couple of posts on this key changing.
It was just such shame has bullets song with the Yeah,
but it was really interesting because that was a disc
(14:14):
song about Drake. So I was really curious about the
people that are voting. How many are Kendrick fans and
how many are.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Well, look, I said, I'm sure there's that thing that happens,
but you know you're going to just vote for somebody
even without listening to the song, because of course, of
course that's going to be there. You know, there's but
there's going to be also a lot of people like
me who are trying to be fair. Yeah, and China
light maybe on someone who isn't that well known, right
(14:47):
and yeah. So you do all this and you think
some I think some categories of it top eight, some
have six. You go through all that stuff and so.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
If you're going through six hundred songs, you have to
listen to them all and then aside your top six.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
Not really, I mean ideally, but that's never going to
happen in the forget it for second, so you know,
but then also you might actually choose six or eight
before you even hit the end of the list, and
then it's like, well, if your name started with.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
S say that the radio awards, I don't enter anymore,
right T T Like they don't get to me. My
ratings are like in Melbourne, like I had one year
I was rating, I had a survey where was like
sixteen seventeen percent. I didn't even get a look in
at the radio.
Speaker 4 (15:35):
Wats she's number one.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
I don't think she actually quite internalizes that fact. It
comes to me for Rockstadva y Ross Walking.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
But I get, you know, like you get if your
name is at the end of the alphabet because it's alphabeticals,
so you know, dealor Swift is both ways, Like.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
It doesn't matter if they sought to you by last
name or first name, is still going to be like
I'm hoping I'm going to be.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
Don't put down as Robert put a Bobby.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Yeah, but that's the thing, right, So you choose all
of this and you pick your thing, and then you
say submit and then bang it's gone. It's like, wow,
how did that take? You Claimbax? Two days?
Speaker 3 (16:25):
Really for me? Solid two days?
Speaker 2 (16:27):
Well, not there, but a good four or five hours
each day. Okay, but that's because I was trying to
be you're doing the right thing, like I want to
listen to songs.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
He'll cheat next year, next okay, So this is what
I'm dying to know. I'm dying it's okay, album of
the Year. Right. So I'm a big Beyonce fan, and
her album Cowboy Carta is actually one of my favorite
of her albums. However, the controversy leading up to that.
In that last year at the Grammys, Jay Z made
(16:58):
a speech and you know, basically, because Beyonce is the
most nominated artist of all time, she's one of the
most Grammys of all.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Time and billion dollars in the bank, but he's you.
Speaker 4 (17:10):
Know, he basically said to the Grammys, you know you've
given her all these awards, but you still haven't given
her album the year. It doesn't make sense. So immediately
after that speech, I thought to myself, well, sure she's
gonna win it, right, because he's called them out.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
I could see myself starting to put myself into trouble
as you're talking. As you're talking a stern phone call
from the recording academy. No, but I get what you mean.
I get what you're saying. In like the surprise wasn't
There was surprise, but there was also like, yes, see
why that's happened. Right, But I'll tell you something, right,
I mean, on the surface, right from a systems point
(17:47):
of view, this is what I discovered. You cannot rig
the Grammys in that sense.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
There's too many people voting and it's all audited.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
You know, you cannot. And that's why when people say, oh,
you know, my favorite artists in the area and day.
You know, my niece was so disappointed that Grande wasn't
like she loves her, it's like, oh, you know, it's like,
you can't actually rig. So when the all the Grammy snub,
it's not like ten people in a room deciding. And
it doesn't mean your artist had a bad album or
record or whatever it was. It just means that in
that category there were other people who also had music out,
(18:20):
and your odds are now dramatic because if you look
at that top thing, if in the one category, if
you've got you know, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga and
Beyonce and Sabrina Carpenter and and you know Kendrick come
on like that itself, like you know, song of the Y.
I was like, okay, this is actually a proper competition.
I would pick any one of those songs, and I did.
(18:42):
I picked one of those songs, but I picked on
But again, that's like how it happens, right, So it
just means that enough people voted for the other person,
so it's not like you can't take the personally. And
that was a big issue for them, with the Weekend
calling them out and going, I was snubbed for the Grammys.
(19:02):
And he doesn't know anymore, no, but that was the
coolest part of what happened. So Harvey Mason Junior is
the CEO. Halfway through the Grammys, he came on and
he said, you know, I woke up one morning and
I saw this and on the screen behind him it's
all these screenshots of news reports of the Weekend calling
out the Grammys, and I was like, wow, that's that's
a ballsy thing to do. When he've got his spears around,
(19:24):
you're calling him out. You're calling out the Weekend in
the most public forum. And he was like, but the
way he said it was but it made us think
about what we wanted, what we should change, so that
our artists didn't feel like that. So that's when they
actually started to make things very transparent and talk about
how And that's why I'm allowed to talk about how
the process happens, because we want transparency. And now we've
(19:47):
and he said, now we've added you know, three thousands
more people of color are now voarding members, and thousands
more women and thousands more younger people are now members,
and blood he kept on and he was like, and
so now that I believe we have done all this,
ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to welcome four time Grammy
(20:07):
Award winning artists The Weekend performed and we were like,
holy crap, he's here, Like that was the most So
that's what's how he was introduced. He said, so now
it's a pleasure to welcome back recording a watch and
we were like, they're going, holy crap, how did they
(20:29):
keep that? Can you imagine what they would have had
to do to keep that and we were but that's
how it works. And you know, like and that's the
whole thing. But voting in the grammy iss like people
just you know, part of what I wanted to talk
to you, like to dispel those myths. Yeah, it's not
it is, you know. But of course, now look I've
said that, right, it's all democratic and but there is
(20:51):
a way to get nominated. There is. There are ways
you can further your chances of being nominated. There are
ways of furthering your chances of being a winner.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
Can you tell so when Lisa and nom Yeah, it's.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
Basically it's awareness. It's pr that's all it is. It's screwed,
but that's why it helps so much money. But that's why,
and that's the that's the terrible part of it. It
Sometimes it feels like how good the song is, it's
only now that I know what happens, it feels like
that's only twenty or thirty percent of the reason that
(21:26):
you could win, which probably answers your question. Yeah, it's
pr right, it goes back to what you were saying.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
So that would be the sign with the country album
because she one country Beyonce one country album. Didn't you
like that? Was like whoa, yeah, yeah, that's right.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
But but again, see it it comes into what you
were saying. When you're looking at the list of you know, okay,
song of the album. Those are extensive categories. Like there's
nothing stopping you from putting your album into songs of day.
It'll be there on the ballot. Yeah, one of those
six hundred when you're going through the list of when
you're going through the list of your TV.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
Yeah, I was going to put down the laser's name.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
You find someone, find someone whose name starts with.
Speaker 3 (22:04):
A son, but his sir names Watson, give.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
Them another name. But I'm just saying so, you know,
so yes, so when you're going down that list of people,
you're gonna hit fatigue at some point, yes, yep. So
who are you gonna look for? You're gonna start looking
for familiar names. So there are campaigns that people run
for it's called they're called f y C campaigns for
your consideration, and you are allowed to do those.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
Do you do those directed at the judges or do
you do those directed members? And that's what's judges calling
you a judge members?
Speaker 4 (22:36):
Yeah, before but that's what you programmys was about these
campaigns directed towards the voting members, and.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Board has issues that are just the magazine has issues
that are dedicated.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
To me in front of you.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
And then you're like, so you have email. You're basically
on an email list. Every person has starting to and
that's why when you kind of do.
Speaker 3 (22:56):
They email you, Oh.
Speaker 4 (22:57):
Yeah, oh yeah, I think I've say every.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
Day there's like three females coming, only three every day.
This is I'm talking about this like over the course
of two months leading into boarding.
Speaker 4 (23:14):
It's music industry, and this is a life changing nomination,
like you were saying, And it's money. It's huge, right,
It's a massive And I loved Chapel Roan's speech that
was fantastic about you're making all this money off us
we need healthcare and we need better support systems and
everything like that, because that's what we see. You know,
when you talk about the mystique and everything like that,
(23:35):
it's always felt like this select group of people.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
But it's publicity obviously. You know, you take a big artist,
you take killer. She wouldn't have to do a lot
of dedicated pr to raise awareness that her music is
in the ballot. It wouldn't be a lot of that,
but for most other people, you're just trying to put
as much out in the right places, and there's certain
things allowed to do you kind of you can you
(23:59):
can send people like you can message people on Facebook
and go, hey man, I'm you know, I know you're
a voting member. Yeah, and I've got music in this category.
I'd love you to consider it. And that's all you
have to say.
Speaker 3 (24:11):
Yeah, it's like can I send you candy? Can I
send you no?
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Like what's your bank account information.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
Coming?
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Because because that's bribery. Yeah, yeah you can do that,
so you know, but you can, like you know, not
you can. You're not also meant to kind of have
groups where you start soliciting votes from each other. And
somebody did that, somebody I know telling me that people
they know have the spots, like a WhatsApp group right
with like fifty people, Yeah, and like here's my music,
(24:42):
you vote for me and novel for you. And they
were having these conversations and then someone who spent it
there and screenshotted everything and said it the Recording Academy.
All those guys got like warnings.
Speaker 3 (24:50):
And you know, like just dumped out straight away.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
So they are kind of You've got to be very
careful about how you do. There are ways you can
talk to people, but it comes down to that how
much awareness, how memorable can you make your name and
the name of your album and the song or whatever
it is to the people who are actually voting in
your category. And I would think that that would work
in the genres that's going to be really difficult in
(25:15):
like song of the Year, an album of the Year,
that's going to be a big person Like I could
spend a million dollars on pr the chances of me
winning album of my first goal, Yeah, well it could happen,
but I'll be very surprised. And traditionally that's what you see.
(25:35):
You see that happening, Like you know, it's always it's
never going to be like, who is that person? I've
never heard of him. It's very rarely that it's always
going to be one of the you know, but Tailor
Swift didn't win anything. She had a bang, She's just
finished the two billion the tour. She doesn't care. She's like,
(25:55):
I've got home.
Speaker 4 (25:57):
It was definitely Beyonce's I mean and and I want
to ask you, what did you think about Beyonce winning
Country Album of the Year and what that is now
doing for country music.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
Well, I heard the album and I don't think it's
country first of all, right, and I'm probably getting deep
pool for saying that, but it's just being honest. I'm
not I don't think it's I don't think it's people.
I don't think I don't have any issues with Beyonce
as the artist being in the genre. People change genres
(26:30):
all the time. Deals with jumped.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
From country to the exactly people do it?
Speaker 2 (26:34):
Post Malon does everyone does. I'm not a lot of
people faulting her for just trying to be in the genre.
I don't agree with that. You're welcome to do it.
Come on, no one should keep that do it? But
it's I don't. I just don't think it was a
country album. It was just a very But does a country?
Speaker 4 (26:51):
Does country need to expand and evolve?
Speaker 2 (26:55):
I think you then have to really understand what the
fundamentals of country are.
Speaker 3 (26:59):
Because you can then say that the same about you know,
pop and rock and yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Some fundamental things that people identify with country. Right, So
there's a particular sound, there's a sound, there's a certain
kind of you know, there's certain sounds you expect to hear, Yes,
you can.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
Have and even vocally, even vocally, there's a storytelling.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Element to the song. And you know, my wife left me,
and my girlfriend left me, and my dog.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
Left me, and I drink at the bar.
Speaker 2 (27:27):
Yeah, I mean, you know, look, there's certain narvatives. But
I look, whatever you identify as the thing that you
would hear a song and know it's country, there's some
things right. So I just don't think it was a
country album. It was just a very mixed and see
like a hundred people working on that album, and to me,
it had no cohesiveness. Is probably gonna put a hit
(27:47):
out on me for saying, but you know, but I
just didn't feel, like I said, there were a lot
of people who had an issue with just her being
in the category. That's I don't have that problem because
I jump across the.
Speaker 4 (28:01):
Time Taylor Swift postmline. We're seeing so many artists over
the country.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
I don't I don't think that should be a gatekeeping issue.
If you really believe in the genre and you love
it so much and you create a record that pays
homage and you kind of play by some of their rules. Yeah,
that's fine, go for it. But I just don't think
it was a country album. And that's why I was surprised,
as Like, as a musician, I think that's the thing
I want to hear. Country or rock. You've got to
hear the band, You've got to hear people in that song. Yes,
(28:29):
it can be beautifully produced and can have all these
other kind of cross genre electronic elements there, but if
I don't, it can't sound like a box of soap. Right,
Country albums, great country records don't sound like a box
of soap. You can hear. Yeah, they might be well produced,
but you can hear the people in the in the music.
And I think that's a big thing of rock and country,
(28:52):
rap and pop to an extent. I want to hear
the person singing, and I want to hear that as
a person. Yes, then I want to hear that there's
a person behind the music. But everything else can be whatever.
I don't care. It could be acoustic or whatever it
might be. But I think with rock and country, you
want to hear, like, can six people on stage play
that album? Right?
Speaker 3 (29:13):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (29:14):
And I don't think that's the case for that Beyonce
record be proved wrong. She probably do it too and
pull it off.
Speaker 4 (29:21):
But it's just such an in conversation because obviously she
was the first black woman to win a Grammy for
a country album.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
Yeah I believe so, yeah.
Speaker 4 (29:31):
Yeah, so you know she's making history in that respect,
and then what doors does that open for other you know,
dream of Color and you know, was it was the
award more to make a statement or was it?
Speaker 2 (29:46):
I don't know, I don't I don't think it was.
I think she just decided to make a country album
because why not. She's Beyonce, And I don't think she
was she.
Speaker 3 (29:54):
Was surprised to win.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
She looked surprised, yea. But yeah, yeah, I don't think
she had any of those I'm paving the way for again,
this is my opinion. I don't think she thought that
too much.
Speaker 3 (30:08):
I'm going to open the door for not the reason
she did.
Speaker 2 (30:11):
No, no, no, it's like I like country music. I'm
going to make an album because why not? And that
was it. But I just think, look like you're Beyonce,
You've got like whatever, forty or fifty Grammys or whatever.
It is some absurd amount of Grammys and good on her.
You've earned that, that's fine, you've got a billion dollars
in the bank. I don't know. I just thought you
were kind of taking the spot away from someone who
(30:32):
could really use that grammy.
Speaker 4 (30:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
I get what you're saying, to shine that light on
a person who's for whom that grammy could change their life.
Speaker 3 (30:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:42):
I think if you've reached a certain point in your career,
I don't think I think you shouldn't even be allowed
to put your music in for consideration when I come
to power.
Speaker 3 (30:50):
Right, Yeah, that's okay, that's interesting if you've won.
Speaker 2 (30:56):
Something I don't know more. Yeah, I think so. It's
like being a billionaire, right, you make a billion dollars
and that's it. You can't make any more money, and we'll,
you know, put a park bench shop in your honor
and everything else goes to, you know, the community. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
I think it should be that. But again, you know,
we're in a capitalist world and that's how it is.
(31:17):
But I really think, you know, people like who are
so accomplished and they want grammag and they've achieved those
things and they don't really need this to further their
career at Yeah, but there are so many artists. I
saw people like Chapel Room, people like yes, I've been
a carpenter, who are kind of starting to kind of
create this career for themselves. Yeah, one hundred percent, fine,
go for it. But yeah, I mean there was a
long winded way of answering your question, I suppose, but.
Speaker 3 (31:39):
You know that, but we got there.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
But I don't even know if I answered it.
Speaker 3 (31:43):
But I again, I didn't even know what the question.
Speaker 2 (31:46):
I think it was. What do I think of Beyonce
winning the country album? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (31:49):
No, but no, but you did think.
Speaker 4 (31:51):
I think there's other moments in history where it makes change.
Because in her speech she just said something about, you know,
don't stay stuck. People will try and put you in
a genre, and you don't have to stick to what
it is. And it's these sort of wins that actually
make people go, I'm not too sure about that whatever,
but it opens up the conversation and braw and then
(32:15):
next year in the country category, we might see a
whole range of other artists that come in and bring
some sort of pop element or something into it, or
we might see more women of color.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
Yeah, so that's just how it's going to be.
Speaker 3 (32:28):
Will Will happen, what happens, Well, there's a nice little
insight into the Grammy Awards voting process.
Speaker 2 (32:34):
Eh.
Speaker 3 (32:34):
In our next episode, we pose the question, is Bobby's
family the Indian Jimmy Barnes' family Wait until you're hear
what some of his family members have achieved in the
music industry.
Speaker 1 (32:45):
You've been listening to Life as we Know It Unfiltered
with Tony Tanalia and Lisa Cameron. If you liked this episode,
please leave us a review or drop a comment on
our socials. We love hearing from you. You can also
come hang out with us on Instagram at Life as
we Know It, dot podcast, and on Facebook at Life
as we Know It. Oh and please see that follow
button on your favorite podcast app. If you're not following
(33:07):
us yet, catch up with you in our next episode.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!