Grammy Afterthoughts: Cynics Rebuked; Hill’s Record Revisited

The Dixie Chicks, the big upset winner at the 41st annual Grammy Awards, didn’t just beat Shania Twain for best country album--they also overcame the pattern of the night: If you sing, you win.

‘We thought for sure that Shania got [it] . . .,” a shocked member of the country trio told the show’s global audience. “She performed, and we thought that was the way you win.”

Not a bad theory: There were seven artists who performed immediately before a category in which they were nominated, and Twain was the only one who returned to her seat without the next trophy.

Is the show rigged? Nah, say Grammy officials, it’s just good luck--and good television.

“The cynicism of America these days has reached a level that a lot of people think the fix is in,” says Michael Greene, president of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. “But it’s not.”

Greene says most acts are booked a full month before balloting is finished.

The show’s performers are selected for their star power and diversity, Greene says, but he downplays the obvious signal that the Grammy planners also are crack handicappers.

“It’s a glorious coincidence when it does happen,” Greene said. “But it doesn’t work out that way every year.”