Rolling Stone has named its “20 Strangest Best New Artist Grammy Wins.” Arrested Development is the highest Hip Hop act on the list, coming in at #13.
“Hip-hop’s answer to Bruce Hornsby and the Range,” Rolling Stone says in its story. “Arrested Development (no relation to the TV show) had a hit in 1992 with the folksy ‘Tennessee.’ They were the first rappers to win Best New Artist, unless you count Sheena Easton. Bizarrely, they remain the only hip-hop act to win besides Lauryn Hill. (No, Kanye didn’t win — he lost to Maroon 5. But he handled it with his usual maturity and grace.)”
Lauryn Hill lands at #16 on Rolling Stone’s list. “The Fugees’ Lauryn Hill won five Grammys for her solo debut, including Album of the Year,” Rolling Stone says. “(Just like Christopher Cross in 1980.) So absolutely nobody was surprised when L-Boogie won BNA. The surprise came later, when she dropped off the face of the earth. Maybe the whole ‘bringing her Bible up to the podium so she could read a psalm to the crowd’ thing should have been a warning sign.”
Amy Winehouse, who worked with Nas, Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi, among others, was #19 on Rolling Stone’s list. “Winehouse was made for the BNA award, and it was made for her,” Rolling Stone says. “So young. So female. So singer-songwriter-y. Kinda like Taylor Swift, who was also nominated that year. Except the Grammy voters figured Winehouse was more promising, since she was the one with the tattoos, the English accent and the boyfriend in jail. (‘For my Blake incarcerated!’) Winehouse went on to write dozens of great songs and gross $110 million on her 2013 tour. Oh no, wait — that was Taylor Swift.”
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Rolling Stone’s “20 Strangest Best New Artist Grammy Wins” is as follows:
1. Jose Feliciano (1968)
2. Marvin Hamlisch (1974)
3. Starland Vocal Band (1976)
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4. Debby Boone (1977)
5. A Taste of Honey (1978)
6. Christopher Cross (1980)
7. Men at Work (1982)
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8. Bruce Hornsby and the Range (1986)
9. Jody Watley (1987)
10. Tracy Chapman (1988)
11. Milli Vanilli (1989)
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12. Marc Cohn (1991)
13. Arrested Development (1992)
14. Hootie and the Blowfish (1995)
15. Paula Cole (1997)
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16. Lauryn Hill (1998)
17. Shelby Lynne (2000)
18. Evanescence (2003)
19. Amy Winehouse (2007)
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20. Bon Iver (2011)
RELATED:Rolling Stone Names Its 20 Best Hip Hop Albums Of 2013
