FYC: What It Means & How I Approach Voting
If you know a few musicians, you've probably seen three little letters lately: FYC.
So what is this about? And why is everyone posting it?
FYC stands for For Your Consideration. It's the phrase many artists use when their work is up for their industry's biggest honors. In music, the biggest and most visible honor is the GRAMMY®.
Art and Awards: Strange Bedfellows
Before I explain how this works, here's a confession: most of us have mixed feelings about the whole thing. We're thrilled and honored to be on the ballot. We love the community, the fellowship, and the chance to hear music created by all kinds of actively engaged music makers hailing from across the globe. A GRAMMY® can mean a career paradigm shift. All of this is very exciting.
Still, a competition between works of art is a strange idea.
Take music out of it for a moment. Who would want to decide whether Michelangelo or da Vinci made the better art in a given year? And what about the brilliant painter nobody has heard of, whose work belongs right next to theirs? Artists like that can be lost to history, and when they are, the whole world misses out.
And what happens when an already celebrated star and a not-yet-celebrated artist both make exquisite projects that meet every point on a voter's rubric? Do we honor the artist who is recognized year after year because they keep making remarkable work? Or the one who has never been nominated, whose work is just as deserving and hasn't yet had their moment in the spotlight?
So how do we decide?
For me, the answer always comes back to the music itself. I try to listen without regard to the name on the cover and let each recording stand on its own merits. That's harder than it sounds, and it's the heart of voting with integrity. How I Vote
When we vote with integrity, we listen to everything in the categories we're voting in. Then we choose our favorite five. Each voter brings their own rubric. Here's part of mine:
Beauty. Beauty comes first on my list, but it doesn't always mean consonant, smooth, pretty, or optimistic. To me, beauty means authentic, intentional in expression, and honest.
Originality. Originality doesn't mean reinventing the wheel or being different just for the sake of it. To me, originality means a distinct voice: identity and presence.
A captivating concept. It doesn't have to be elaborate or purely intellectual. To me, it is an idea that draws me in and makes me want to hear where the artist will take it, from the first track to the last. What are they saying with this project? What are they showing me?
Impact. How am I left at the end of the experience? Am I still thinking about the art once the music has concluded?
Expert execution in every part of the recording. This is the GRAMMY®, after all. Quality matters.
I want to feel a clear identity in the project and in the artist.
For albums, I want a through line. Why do these pieces belong together, and does it work? If an album feels hastily shuffled together, I usually lose interest.
For songs and performances, I want the track to stand out. I want my imagination or my feelings set alight. I also have an appreciation for cleverness.
My Story This Year
This is my 9th year as a voting member of the Recording Academy.
This year I'm hoping for my first nomination, and I have two entries in consideration:
Best Jazz Vocal Album: DELIGHTFULLY
Best Jazz Performance: "If You Know You Know"
Roughly 13,000+ voting members are spread around the planet. Not all of them vote in the same categories.
More Greatness Than There Are Slots
There are almost always more wonderful projects than nominations. Last year, one of my categories was packed with worthy submissions. I listened to every one and got down to 15.
Fifteen, not five!
Then I listened again and again, letting go of one at a time until I had my five and could clearly explain each choice.
So we listen, we consider, we choose our favorites, and we submit. Each voter picks up to 10 categories across 3 fields. I am always a Jazz voter, because that's where my degree and expertise live. I choose my other categories where I have real experience, am qualified, and feel connected to the music.
What Happens Next
In mid-November, the nominations are announced. Most categories end up with five official GRAMMY® nominees, though the number can vary. Over the following months we vote again, this time for the winners, who are revealed at the ceremony in early February.
That's the process in a nutshell. At least, it's mine.
I'm Not Doing This Alone
This isn't a figure of speech: my band is officially on the ballot with me, though only two of us are voters. (We were friends and collaborators long before either of us became a voter.)
Best Jazz Vocal Album: DELIGHTFULLY Monika Ryan featuring Keith Loftis, Steve Einerson, Neal Miner & Joe Strasser Best Jazz Performance: "If You Know You Know" Monika Ryan, Keith Loftis, Steve Einerson, Neal Miner, Joe Strasser, Adrian Galante & Daniel Freedman
Every arrangement, every solo and every bit of chemistry you hear on these recordings came from all of us together, not just me, even though I was the ringleader of this merry band. It was a collective, as it always is.
Maybe, just maybe, this is the year. And if it is, my whole band will be nominated right alongside me, because:
They deserve it. They are incredible musicians, and they played beautifully on this project, as they do on every project they're part of.
Joy and success are better shared.
I would be delighted to see them honored with a nomination as well.
And that is what FYC is all about.
🎧 The whole album previewed in under 5 minutes: the first few lines of every song, with the full album there too.
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