Milli Vanilli Grammy Will Go Unawarded

There will be no 1989 Grammy for best new artist.

The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences’ board of trustees has voted to leave the Grammy--which was stripped from Milli Vanilli frontmen Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan--unawarded rather than give it to the act that received the second-highest vote total.

“This whole Grammy process is not like a group of runners in a 100-yard dash or something that clearly has a second- or third-place finisher,” academy president Michael Greene said Tuesday from New York, where he was attending a “Grammy Legends” concert. “Our feeling was (that) if we had taken Milli Vanilli out of the mix and let our voters vote on the next four, the result probably would have been different in terms of who would have come up second.”

The other acts nominated for the award last year were Neneh Cherry, Indigo Girls, Soul II Soul and Tone Loc. Greene said that even if the award were given to one of them, “that award would always be flawed or carry an asterisk.”

At the same meeting, the academy trustees confirmed Greene’s statement last week that votes for Milli Vanilli in three 1990 categories for which the group is listed on the ballot will not be counted. Milli Vanilli is listed in the best album, best record and best pop performance by a group or duo categories. But Milli Vanilli’s “Blame It on the Rain” will remain eligible in the best song voting.

“Our voters in that category are always urged to vote for the song, not the performer,” Greene said.

If “Blame It on the Rain” wins, the Grammy will go to songwriter Diane Warren, not to Milli Vanilli.