Unknown singer’s online blitz riles critics Grammy grab?

By CHRIS TALBOTT

AP Entertainment Writer

NASHVILLE, Tenn.

Linda Chorney is the feel-good, do-it-yourself success story of this year’s Grammy Awards. Or she’s an unworthy impostor who broke the unwritten rules regarding self-promotion for music’s top showcase.

It just depends on who you talk to.

How the little-known 51-year-old singer-songwriter parlayed pluck into a career milestone provides an interesting window into the inner politics of the Grammys and the role influence can play in shaping nominations. Chorney’s nod for best Americana album at the Feb. 12 ceremony has drawn a range of reactions, not all of them kind. She’s been mocked on Twitter and by a majority of taste-making bloggers, and only occasionally has anyone come to her defense.

Since her Nov. 30 nomination for her self-produced independent double album “Emotional Jukebox,” she’s been taking advantage of the opportunities while turning some of the criticism back on itself in the same irrepressible way she’s carved out a career in music over the past three decades.

“It’s not cool,” she said. “But what can you do?” The positive reaction has outweighed the negative, she says: “I’ve had an outcry of letters from people my age who have said what an inspiration this is. That it gave them hope. So that’s been pretty nice. I didn’t expect to hear that, which was really beautiful.”

Her critics say Chorney’s use of a National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences social-networking site to introduce her music to voters ran afoul of informal rules about lobbying. David Macias, a Grammy winner based in Nashville, thinks her nomination could have damaged the credibility of music’s most prestigious showcase.

“The Grammys run the risk of being diluted,” Macias said.

Chorney has defended herself, saying she simply took advantage of the Grammy365.com social-networking program the academy encouraged her to use. And Neil Portnow, the academy’s president, agrees. He says her story shows there truly is a level playing field for all artists.

“It shows everybody has a shot,” Portnow said. “That really is the truth.”

Her competition is previous category winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Levon Helm, Country Music Hall of Fame member Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams and Ry Cooder — owners of nearly two dozen Grammys collectively. Chorney’s detractors say she doesn’t belong.

In what seemed to be a veiled swipe at Chorney, when Lost Highway Records congratulated Williams on her nominations on its website, it added: “One might think Lucinda would be up for the award alongside the likes of amazing albums such as ‘KMAG YOYO (& other American stories)’ from Hayes Carll or Robert Earl Keen’s ‘Ready for Confetti,’ but alas, here is a full list of the Americana Album nominees,” then listed Chorney’s name first.

Chorney, a resident of Sea Bright, N.J., has made a living as a musician for 30 years outside the label system, visiting all seven continents and releasing six albums along the way.

Backed by a strong crew of musicians, Chorney said “Emotional Jukebox” was the best album of her career.

She became an academy member at another friend’s suggestion. With two weeks to go until the close of nominations, someone else urged her to use the Grammy365.com website to seek voter support. About 1,500 of the academy’s 12,000 voters accepted her contact and after that it was up to them to listen to her music and make a decision.

“I think the system is a wonderful opportunity for independent artists,” Chorney said. “Basically a one-year membership is $100. Grammy365 to me is, you buy your $100 lottery ticket and the odds are like winning the lottery. Except, rather than having a number, you have your music, which can make your odds better if your music speaks for itself and gives you an edge.”

It’s that edge Macias objects to. He says over the years, NARAS officials had made it clear in “unwritten rules” that blatant self-promotion was out of bounds. Not only was it always difficult to determine who voters were, if a publicist or artist did cross into forbidden territory they were asked to step back in line.

Macias, a Nashville-based artist manager who runs the management and marketing firm Thirty Tigers, is one of the few members of the loose-knit roots rock community willing to talk on the record about Chorney’s nomination. He makes it clear that his opinion is his own and not that of the Americana Music Association, of which he is the outgoing president.

Macias realizes that he’s coming off like a jerk for going after Chorney, but he believes she broke the unwritten rules about promoting yourself, depriving artists such as Carll, Jason Isbell and John Hiatt of a well- deserved nod.