Carrie Underwood's song "Before He Cheats," which won a Grammy this year, is from her 2005 album Some Hearts. She has since released a second album. How is she still winning a Grammy for "old" material?
—Kim, Panama
The B!tch Replies: The answer is that I have a pinched nerve, and it will require the attention of a surgeon or some sort of doctor armed with a needle, and your question is so, so much less important than the pain I am suffering. I will answer your question, but only in brief. In an all-Grammy Lightning Round.
So...about "Before He Cheats"?
—Kim, Panama
Yes, yes, I heard your piddling question the first time. The answer has to do with release dates.
To be considered for a 2007 Grammy, those handed out in 2008, a recording had to have been released between Oct. 1, 2006 and Sept. 30, 2007. Underwood's album was indeed released in 2005. You are not an idiot.
But the song you mention was released as a separate single later, during the 2007 Grammy eligibility period. Single release dates are a fuzzy affair, experts tell me.
But in general, the day a label starts promoting a particular song for Internet or radio play is the single release date. It can be before an album release date. It can be after an album release date. Or, in the case of Underwood, it can be way after the album release date.
Hi, Answer B!tch! Hi, Korbi! Considering Amy Winehouse just won a ton of Grammys, why is it that celebrities get rewarded for such bad behavior, or is it all just one big PR game?
—Torrence, New York
Remember, before she got a reputation as a lurching tragedy queen with a beehive that smells distinctly of powderlike substances, Amy Winehouse was known more as a rising young jazz singer.
Her beehive smelled like talent.
"One of the crazy things about the Grammys is that their eligibility ends in September," says Phil Gallo, associate editor and music writer at Variety. "And in September of '07, Amy Winehouse was just a person who sold a lot of records and was maybe having trouble with her boyfriend."
Besides, Gallo says, he doesn't think Winehouse was really being "rewarded" for her behavior: "She was being rewarded for her music."
And in this B!tch's not so humble opinion, Back to Black is a great album.
How did some old jazz guy steal the Grammy win for Album of Year out from under Kanye West?
—Kanye Fan, Tampa
Because Herbie Hancock is closer to dying than Kanye is, that's why.
And if you think I'm being flip, consider: Observers say that the Album of the Year award has been evolving over the past few years, becoming less like a popularity contest and more of a lifetime achievement type thing. And unlike other categories, there's a certain sentimentality that tends to creep into this one, Gallo says.
"There are a lot of people voting for this," Gallo points out. "Country people, gospel people, recording engineers, and some of them may be thinking, 'You know, Kanye is a little too cocky. And Herbie Hancock deserves a lifetime achievement award, and this is how we're going to give it to him.' "
This would also explain the—what?!—2001 Album of the Year win for Steely Dan and the 2004 Album of the Year win for Ray Charles. Neither act had the same currency with the kids as, say, Timbaland.
How many actual trophies are given away at the Grammys? Foo Fighters had, like, 50 people on stage with them. Do all those people get a trophy for that one win?
—Erik, Monument, Colorado
Nearly 400 trophies, according to a speech that the head Grammy dweeb made last night. But each Grammy category sets limits on exactly who gets the little gramophones. For example, the awards for projects, not people—Album of the Year, Record of the Year, that kind of thing—go only to artists, producers, engineers and mixers. If you aren't one of those things, no shiny stuff for you.
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