Hanson's three nominations (Record of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Pop Performance by Duo or Group With Vocal) came as no surprise. The Tulsa-native cherubs -- with their smash hit single hit single "MMMBop" -- were the biggest pop act of the previous year and likely have the chops to garner this type of acclaim a few more times in their long lives ahead.
These nominations should serve up a great deal of validation for the boys, not so much because of the Grammys' alleged prestige but because of the absence of certain other acts alongside them. You might have noticed in the nominations list the absence of the Spice Girls -- not a single nomination. (Yahoo!) Also shunned was the year's truly fabricated band, the Backstreet Boys. The fact that Hanson made it into the competition with the likes of true songsmiths like Shawn Colvin, R. Kelly and Puff Daddy should help these guys shake free of those undeserved comparisons to the New Kids on the Block.
Trouble is, the competition in these categories is pretty worthy this year. For Best New Artist, the only real challenge for the boys is beating Puff Daddy. He's such a blatantly obnoxiouz plagiarist, though, the boys' angelic nature might clinch them a gold paperweight, after all. For Record of the Year -- the top award -- they're up against Colvin's "Sunny Came Home" and Paula Cole's "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?" (in itself, not a terribly strong song, but with seven nominations she must have some edge).
Their surest bet is the Best Duo or Group award, where Hanson is up against Fleetwood Mac's "Silver Springs" (a single deserving of recognition after 20 years, but no real contender), Jamiroquai's "Virtual Insanity," No Doubt's "Don't Speak" and the Rolling Stones' "anybody Seen My Baby?" When they triumph over the Stones, justice will be served.
Either way, you can pretty much rest assured that Hanson will dominate the People's Choice award-flinging still to come.
