It Ain't Over... And The "I" In The "Eye"

Round One of GRAMMY® voting: complete ✔️

Every year, Round One is wonderful (and it can be exhausting). It’s a joyful discovery and reunion.

To those of us who took part: we did it! And if you’re like me, you’ll be forever changed for the better by it. I made new friends, discovered new art that will become part of my soundscape, and reconnected with friends I’ve had for years. It’s a very impactful experience.

A Note About FYC Pages

FYC (For Your Consideration) pages are project pages that artists make for their submissions. Why do I like them when the recordings are all available right on the ballot?

For me, FYC pages are liner notes. In the age of digital streaming, we no longer have a tangible booklet to read along with. FYC pages help me understand the intent behind the music, and who and what is behind the art.

I listen and vote both ways during voting season. But FYC pages can be a big part of the experience, dare I say, of human-made art. For example, when music is written for or about a person, the FYC page might include their portrait or their story, and that helps me understand the art. In place of a physical product with a booklet, we have the FYC page.

So What’s Next In This Process?

The votes are being dutifully tabulated by the accounting firm Deloitte, and nominations will be announced on November 16.

We’re now in the eye of GRAMMY® season. I don’t want to call it a storm, because it’s joyful! But the idea of a quiet window in the middle of an exciting process is perfect.

For the nominees, there will be a second round to prepare for, plus everything that comes with going to the GRAMMY® Awards. We don’t know who the nominees will be. It could be anyone! But if it’s YOU, you’ll have another marathon to run, so rest up. Final-round voting runs much longer, from December 10 to January 7, and the winners are revealed at the ceremony on February 7.

The “I” in the “Eye”

So this quiet window is a good time for the “I” in the “Eye”: time to tend to ourselves.

Voting is a joyful, all-encompassing volunteer task with a deadline. While we’re in it, some of our normal activities fall away for a little while. The extra time to listen and consider has to come from somewhere, and for most of us, it comes out of already full schedules.

So for many of us, some self-care got set down along the way. Now is a great time to pick it back up. (I know I need to start working out again, for example!)

Life Goes On (Delightfully)

We’ve all made new friends. Lucky us! Let’s stay in touch, support each other at live shows, and plan some new recordings, maybe even with each other.

It was in this very window last year, between the first and second rounds, that I was finishing lead sheets for DELIGHTFULLY. I was scratching out the final songs, and I think I wrote the title track during this window.

If you find yourself in New York on November 15, I’ll be at Mezzrow Jazz Club. Come on by! I’ll be debuting some new songs and singing some from my recent albums. Maybe I’ll write some of those new songs in this "eye" period!

Feelings...Art and Competition

At the end of the day, art is not a competition.

Many friends have heard me compare art and artists to a garden. We don’t see the rose, the lily, and the orchid competing with each other. Many of us love all of them. Each is distinct and unique, its own form of beauty. It would be silly to argue about which one is lovelier or more important to the garden. When we visit a garden, we experience many kinds of flowers, trees, and plants, and together they make the whole experience magical.

That’s how this process is for me. I had a jazz vocal album on the ballot, and I heard many wonderful vocal jazz albums and artists, and I was delighted. None of us are the same, and that’s a beautiful thing. We really don’t need to compete.

We are all extraordinary blooms, flowering side by side in the same garden. Our presence together makes the whole experience richer, and each of us has our own gifts to share.

With that, I’m signing off for now, but I’ll be back soon.

Always with love,

Monika