New Artist Curse

I've heard of the Grammy's New Artist "curse" but never really looked into it until I had a couple hours to kill today at work. There appears to be something to it, as a lot of the award's winners didn't top the charts for long.

Best New Artists 1980-1999:

1980 - Rickie Lee Jones (info)
Who the hell is Rickie Lee Jones?

1981 - Christopher Cross (info)
Mysteriously he later reemerged as teenage rap duo Kriss Kross.




1982 - Sheena Easton (info)
I remember she was in a few episodes of "Miami Vice."

1983 - Men at Work (info)
In the U.S. their first album sold 6 million copies. Second album - 3 million. Third album - 500,000. I think you see where this is going.

1984 - Culture Club (info)
Boy George still makes headlines: 13 bags of cocaine found in Boy George's apartment

1985 - Cyndi Lauper (info)
She's been onboard Cher's never-ending farewell tour a few times and has a new album coming out that will contain new versions of her hit songs and duets with huge stars like Kelly Osbourne.

1986 - Sade (info)
AOL Music says in 2001 she embarked on her first tour in more than a decade, selling out countless dates across America. Hmm...I must have been out of America during this time.

1987 - Bruce Hornsby & The Range (info)
"Bruce Hornsby remains a musician more concerned with his devoted fan base and his own growth as an artist than with commercial success." Yeah, sure, whatever.

1988 - Jody Watley (info)
Billboard Magazine ranks her the #144 most successful R&B artist of all time. Is that good? She has sold over 20 million records, so I guess it is. Oh, and her sister is a porn star.

1989 - Tracy Chapman (info)
Back then I didn't know whether she was a man or a woman. I'm not sure I ever found out.




1990 - Milli Vanilli (info)
Award was revoked after lip-synching scandal. Milli or Vanilli later overdosed and died.

1991 - Mariah Carey (info)
She has somehow managed to resurrect her career after her meltdown.

1992 - Marc Cohn (info)
He did recently get his name in the news by getting shot in the head.

1993 - Arrested Development (info)
I just read that, while they have struggled to regain a following in the U.S., they have met with moderate and consistent success in Japan. So they're doing just fine.

1994 - Toni Braxton (info)
I know nothing about her. I guess she still has some sort of career.

1995 - Sheryl Crow (info)
She luckily avoided the curse.

1996 - Hootie & The Blowfish (info)
Poor Hootie wasn't so lucky.

1997 - LeAnn Rimes (info)
She's still around, I guess. But it's country music, so who cares?

1998 - Paula Cole (info)
I could not name a Paula Cole song, to save my life.

1999 - Lauryn Hill (info)
See Paula Cole.