Getting Hawaiian music
in the Grammy awards
was not an easy task

When the Grammy award for Best Hawaiian Music Album is announced tomorrow at the 47th annual event in Los Angeles, it will be a historical moment, not only for the winner and five nominees, but the state, Hawaii's indigenous culture and thousands of musicians who have kept the music vibrant and alive.

Best Hawaiian Music Album nominees » The Brothers Cazimero, "Some Call It Aloha ... Don't Tell" » Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom and Willie K, "Amy and Willie Live" » Ho'okena, "Cool Elevation" » Keali'i Reichel, "Ke'alaokamaile" » Various artists, "Slack Key Guitar Vol. Two" Grammy Awards 7 p.m. tomorrow on KGMB/CBS

"It's so long overdue," said entertainment legend Do Ho. "Everyone in Hawaii should have chicken skin and stand proud. Maybe Hollywood is starting to understand us."

Many Hawaiian music artists, record companies and fans have wanted the Hawaiian music to be recognized in this prestigious music competition for more than 20 years.

Hawaiian albums were already eligible for Grammys, primarily through the traditional folk and contemporary folk categories. But finally, the governing National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, created a separate Hawaiian music category last May after years of lobbying by members of the local recording industry.

But Grammy category additions are part of a cumbersome, sometimes political process. New categories recommended by regional chapters across the country are reviewed annually by the NARAS' Awards & Nominations Committee. Final approval is by its Board of Trustees.

The criteria for any new selection is "an extensive process of much thought and discussion, after listening to what people are asking for," a NARAS spokesperson said.

Getting Hawaiian music included in the Grammys was no easy task. In the last two years, there were numerous, sometimes heated, discussions as to what constitutes Hawaiian music, should the traditional compete with the contemporary, and how much of the Hawaiian language, if any, would be required.

Last year, NARAS members -- primarily from Maui -- leaned toward no Hawaiian language requirement, said Alan Yamamoto, president of the Hawaii Academy of Recording Artists, which has about 600 members. (Yamamoto is also a member of NARAS.)

When Grammy officials learned that the Hawaii members seemed to not want a Hawaiian language criteria, they became "confused," Yamamoto said.

Additional meetings involving HARA and NARAS members on Maui and Oahu took place, with some members, primarily those from the Big Island, pushing for a 75 percent Hawaiian language requirement, which might have eliminated most potential nominees.

The group eventually agreed on a traditional category under the Best Hawaiian Music Album banner, vocal or instrumental, in which "Hawaiian language must be used in a predominance of the vocal tracks," or 51 percent or more, Yamamoto said.

The Best Hawaiian Music Album category is now one of four in the overall folk music field.

But just like country music supporters during its early Grammy years, Hawaiian music artists and record producers believe then category will grow over the next few years into several awards.

"These are baby steps," said Manu Boyd, vocalist with Grammy nominee Ho'okena. "Pretty soon, we'll be running."

SOON AFTER THE Hawaiian music category was announced in December, members and record companies submitted entries, which were screened for eligibility and category placement.

Reviewing sessions by more than 150 experts in various fields are held to ensure that entered recordings meet specific qualifications and have been placed in appropriate fields. The purpose of screenings is not to make artistic or technical judgments about the recordings, but to ensure that each entry is eligible and placed in its proper category.

The specific criteria is:

» Recordings and music videos must be released during the eligibility year. For this year's awards, recordings had to be released from Oct. 1, 2003 to Sept. 30, 2004.

» Recordings must be in general distribution in the United States.

The difference between an entry and a nomination is that entries are recordings submitted for Grammy consideration. Entries that meet all eligibility requirements are then voted on by NARAS' members, resulting in the nominations.

NARAS' approximate 12,000 voting members are all involved in the creative and technical processes of recording, including the nominating process that determines five finalists in each category. The final voting process determines the Grammy winner. Record companies do not vote.

NARAS voting members are professionals with creative or technical credits on six commercially released tracks or their equivalent. These may include vocalists, conductors, songwriters, composers, engineers, producers, instrumentalists, arrangers, art directors, album notes writers, narrators and music video artists and technicians.

Yamamoto said there are less than 100 NARAS voting members living in Hawaii.

NARAS does not release information about the entries submitted, but Yamamoto said there were about 25 Hawaii submissions, with another 20 missing the deadline because of confusion over the submission process.

FIRST-ROUND ballots with lists of eligible recordings -- except those voted on by special nominating committees -- are sent to voting members who return their ballots to an independent accounting firm for tabulation. To ensure the quality of voting, NARAS members are directed to vote only in their fields of expertise, although they may nominate in the four general categories of Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist, and in no more than eight out of 31 fields on their ballots.

Because Hawaiian music is such an eclectic field -- at least at this point -- the number of actual voters is likely to be low.

Unlike the Oscar race, in which studios and public relations firms heavily promote their clients, NARAS strongly discourages record companies and artists from the practice, does not allow indiscriminate use of the Grammy Award logo, and does not provide mailing lists of its voting members.

But all artists and record company executives who attend the event are asked to stay for the entire event -- nearly eight hours long.

It will be interesting to see how our local nominees dress for the nationally televised black-tie event, a groundbreaking night for Hawaiian music.