Showing that it takes a while to teach an old dog new beats, the Grammys didn't even give out its first award for a Rap Performance until 1989 -- almost a decade after the Sugarhill Gang had the genre’s first Top 40 hit with “Rapper’s Delight” and eight years after Blondie had melded and mainstreamed the genre with "Rapture.”
Add to that the fact that Grammy ratings have been in a slump since 1994 when they were last watched by an audience of 30 million. In the last four years, they have not been able to get 20 million viewers. That’s not music’s biggest night, that’s not even a decent night of "American Idol." Still, don’t worry, music fans -- we might not be able to save the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards that being are handed out Sunday, but while the patient is on the table, the doctor is in the house armed with a red guitar and the truth.
Here’s TheWrap’s 5 ways to save the Grammys.
1. IDOLIZE IT
Nothing, the cliché tells us, succeeds like success. So we say in today’s economy and amidst declining music sales, embrace what’s working.
Honestly, besides reinvigorating music on TV, nothing constantly cleans up with the American public like "American Idol." So, if the Grammys has primarily become a performance show, which it has, let's bring in the "Idol" judges to pick the winners, critique the performances and surge the ratings upwards. Couldn’t you just see Simon Cowell telling a nervous Jamie Foxx, T-Pain, Slash and Doug E. Fresh, who are all performing together this year, that he “doesn’t mean to be rude, but …”
Having fans vote online -- as the Grammys are this year, on the song a band will perform live on the show -- is a small step forward towards an "Idol" mentality. Hell, it’s a small step towards living in the 21st century. But having that band be Bon Jovi and the choice be limited to one of only three possible tunes isn't much of a great leap. As Randy Jackson, the on-air Ezra Pound of our times, would say -- “I mean, I’m not saying I was blown away.”
2. LESS IS MORE
You wanted bloated? Check this out ... there are 29 genre categories, from Pop and Rock to Classical and Gospel, in this year's Grammys. And there are 109 categories within those fields. Compare that for a second to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences who will be giving out around 24 Oscars and five Special Oscars on March 7.
Then add to that the Byzantine breakdown of who's eligible for what, how and why.
Source:thewrap.com/