Instead, her path to the Grammys is a testament to the increasing role of social networking in defining the music industry.
Chorney - whose sound draws equally from folk, adult contemporary, and classic rock - got on the Grammy ballot after directly connecting with Recording Academy voters through Grammy365.com, the organization’s social-networking site that’s not unlike Facebook. Using that route has drawn her as much fire as it has praise.
With two weeks left in the nomination process last fall, Chorney and her husband, Scott Fadynich, holed up in their New Jersey apartment and personally appealed to voting members. Without ever using the words “vote for me,’’ they asked members to listen to her latest record, the self-released “Emotional Jukebox,’’ and consider it for best Americana album. To everyone’s surprise, they did.
“People do not vote for you just because you ask them to listen to your music,’’ Chorney said earlier this week a day before she and Fadynich drove to Los Angeles for the Grammys. “Nobody’s obligated to do that. There were 165 people in my category competing for Americana album. Ten were household names, and the rest of us slobs were indie artists trying to get a chance to be heard.’’
Her unlikely nomination promptly infuriated much of the Americana community, with outspoken blog entries and tweets suggesting Chorney was a second-rate musician who didn’t belong in the category and had gamed the Grammy system.
“She did not do anything that went beyond the letter or the intent of the guidelines we have,’’ said Bill Freimuth, the Recording Academy’s vice president of awards, adding that the organization loosened its rules on vote solicitation about seven years ago. “It’s still up to the voters to vote.’’
