As reported earlier today, the legendary Whitney Houston has been unceremoniously shut-out from the nominations for the 52nd annual Grammy Awards. The news comes as a shock to many, as the singer’s critically acclaimed, Platinum-selling comeback LP ‘I Look To You’ has long been touted as a Grammy favourite, with its US release date even brought forward to make it eligible for nomination.
While many will debate as to why Houston, 46, was snubbed (a prominent reason cited being her supposed diva antics towards the committee – comprised of writers, producers, industry folk – at her peak), it’ll be interesting to see what happens with her comeback campaign moving forward. With the Grammy’s supposed have been the crowning moment of her rise from the ashes, so to speak, her team will have to find alternate ways to further enrich the campaign – the answer not being solely to tour.
That Grape Juice exclusively reported months back that there’d be no further singles from the album this year. However, upon the start of the new year, Ms. Houston’s best bet IMO would essentially be to put her best foot forward. By that I mean, releasing some of the record’s A* cuts (‘For The Lovers’, ‘Worth It’, ‘Calling You Tonight’, ‘Nothin’ But Love’, for example) – no playing around. In being frank, neither ‘Million Dollar Bill’ or ‘I Look To You’ were first or second single worthy IMO – something which proved not that big a deal when looking at the album’s success to-date, yet will do with the selection of future singles.
It’d also definitely benefit Whitney being more visible, not necessarily in the way of just performances, but talk-show interviews, TV specials, and maybe even a return to movies. As much as Whitney may have become accustomed to her ‘new life’, any hopes of making a significant dent on the music industry once again will require diligence and concentrated saturation of the market (see Mariah‘s hustle and flow approach during the ‘Emancipation’ era…my girl was everywhere!). Speaking of Mariah, does anyone else see Whitney’s Grammy shut-out as a more extreme version how they did Mariah at the 2006 show? Not the business. That said, I guess this whole episode further lends support to the age old saying that “nothing is a certainty”. Here’s hoping things move onwards and upwards for Whitney…