It may be too early to know for sure, but young classical crossover phenom Jackie Evancho’s name is already being bandied about for a 2012 Grammy Award nomination.
But is that possible?
Jackie’s first album “Dream With Me” has indeed topped the
Billboard 200 and Amazon sales charts lists since its release, and she has certainly made an impression on fans and professionals alike.
Insiders say there is a very good possibility Evancho could snag an award – or a nomination at the least.
Related: Meet Jackie Evancho – She’ll Melt Your Heart - VideoThe eligibility requirements for the 2012 54th Annual Grammy Awards say an album must be released between Oct. 1, 2010 and Sept. 30, 2011, and must be in general distribution in the United States.
After her appearance on Britain’s Got Talent, Susan Boyle’s debut album sold over 750,000 units in the U.S. during the first three weeks but was not eligible for a Grammy that year because the timing fell outside the current year’s eligibility requirements.
However, there is some fine print that says that if an individual track “first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Period,” then it can be nominated for categories like Song of the Year and Record of the Year, even if the associated album or CD was released outside the necessary time period.
Related: Jackie Evancho tops sales charts – talks about the future - VideoIt kind of sounds like if the judges and staff really want you in their award show there is always a way to sneak something in to make it legal. Just release a quick single during the period even if the album is not ready to go yet.
The other issue for Jackie is what category should she be nominated in?
In 2011, major changes were made to the rules for 2012 that included nominations for collaborations and duo’s mainly in the pop, rock and rap genre. The classical categories were also compressed.
Also, the Best Classical Album and Best Crossover category has been eliminated and now these artists are able to win under best album, record, or song of the year, etc.
Just to illustrate the ambiguity of the system you have to wonder what the difference between best record of the year and best album of the year is.
My point?
If the nominating committee want’s a particular artist in the running – they will find a way. Remember, a lot of this is about ratings for their televised award show and they would not leave a white hot artist out in the cold over a small technicality.
Watch Jackie Evancho and David Foster InterviewIt also depends whether Jackie would be nominated for an individual song or the entire album - an opera song or a classical song. With more than one genre on her album it could go several ways.
And even though the number of categories has been reduced for 2012 she could still be slotted in Best Opera Recording, Best Classical Vocal Solo, Best Contemporary Classical Composition, or Best New Artist.
You can see the complete list of the revamped and eliminated 2012 categories at the
Grammy site here.
Bottom line:The timing is right. The quality is right. The material is right. The sales figures are right. The collaborations were right. The buzz is right.
Besides, Evancho’s producer on her album, David Foster, is a 17 time Grammy winner himself. If Foster doesn’t know how to wade through the nomination rules than nobody does.
Jackie Evancho will be nominated for something at the 2012 Grammy’s show, and will most likely perform as well. Heck, she may even be a presenter.
We can’t wait, and wish her the best!
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