FEATURE:
A Deal with God
Kate Bush: Will She Be Nominated for a Grammy This Year, or Is There Another Opportunity Out There?
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I have written about Kate Bush…
and the fact that she has not really been recognised fully in America. After her song, Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God), was used on Stranger Things and reached number one around the world, she is being discovered by a young generation. The U.S. Netflix show has helped get her more acclaim and awareness in the U.S. Things are better now than they were in the 1970s and 1980s. So many other artists and fans have discussed Bush through the years, so you can’t exactly say she is unknown ore underground in America. It is true they do not understand her like they should or hold her in the same esteem as the U.K. and other nations. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has nominated Bush three times (including this year), and she has not made it in. There are no genre limits when it comes to entry. It is shocking and strange that Bush has been overlooked. Some say the reason why is because she has not really gained the same popularity in America. Maybe not enough people are aware of her work. I think that this is hard to believe. Now, with the Stranger Things exposure, there are n real excuses. The Grammy Awards announce the nominees in November. A Billboard article asked the question whether Bush will be nominated:
“Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” is one of the biggest hits of the summer. It holds at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, just behind monster hits by Lizzo and Harry Styles.
Fans want to know if there’s any way it could get some attention when the nominations for the 65th Annual Grammy Awards are announced on Nov. 15. In addition to being a major hit, “Running Up That Hill” is the kind of record that Grammy voters often respond to – both classy and accessible.
Bush first released the recording in 1985, so it won’t be eligible for record of the year, though a live or alternate recording of it could be. The Recording Academy’s current Grammy rule book explains: “A song…must have been released on a recording for the first time, or achieved prominence for the first time, during the current eligibility year.”
How did the song fare with Grammy voters in 1985? It wasn’t even nominated, though it came out fairly late in the eligibility year (on Aug. 5, 1985, less than two months before the eligibility year closed on Sept. 30). It peaked at No. 30 on the Hot 100 on Nov. 30. That’s not bad, but it’s below the level that a record generally needed back then for a nomination in a marquee category.
All five of the 1985 nominees for record of the year were top 10 hits on the Hot 100; three of them were No. 1 hits. Four of the five nominees that year for best pop vocal performance, female were top five hits on the Hot 100. (Long-time Grammy favorite Linda Ronstadt rounded out the category with Lush Life, her follow-up to her smash album What’s New.)
Bush has never been a Grammy favorite. She has received just three nominations and has never won. Moreover, just one of her nominations was for a recording. The other two were for music videos.
Of her 10 studio albums, the only one to receive a Grammy nomination was her sixth album, The Sensual World, which received a 1990 nod for best alternative music performance. In that, the first year of that category, Bush lost to Sinéad O’Connor for I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got.
Bush’s other two nominations were for music videos. “The Whole Story” was nominated for best concept music video (1987), but lost to Genesis’ “Land of Confusion.” “The Line, The Cross & The Curve” was nominated for best music video, long-form (1995), but lost to Peter Gabriel’s Secret World Live”.
Billboard noted how the categories that would include Bush relate to the Stranger Things soundtrack. She herself would not win a Grammy if there was success for Stranger Things. I do feel like there should be some aware recognition after all the success she has had this year. Maybe the Recording Academy will give her a lifetime achievement award. I have speculated how NME could create a category or give her a new lifetime achievement award. She has won quite a few awards through her career, but there needs to be some coming her way in 2002 or 2023. A category could be created for her. It is right that America recognises her this way, as she someone who is an icon and has affected so many people there. At this year’s Billboard Music Awards, Mary J. Blige won the Icon Award. I feel it should go to Kate Bush next year. The chances of her turning up are non-existent, but that is not to say she should be excluded. What about beyond the U.S.? There is plenty of opportunity at the BRIT Awards and the NME Awards. Being recognised at one of those ceremonies with an Icon nod or similar category might see Bush turn up to collect the award! That would be her first public appearance in years. Although awards are not everything, recognising the massive success of Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) this year and Bush’s continuing and vital legacy warrants an award. Whether she is dubbed an icon or Hounds of Love wins an award, both the U.S. and U.K. have chances to salute one of the most important artists in the world. Bush herself would not object to an award. Recognising such a legend would put her music into the hands of new fans (in the same way Stranger Things has done recently). To be honest, it is…
WHAT the fans really want.