STEELY Dan’s unexpected triumph at Wednesday night’s Grammy Awards upset more than just the punters. City record stores were left unprepared for a run on Album of the Year “Two Against Nature.”
“Nobody picked Steely Dan to win,” says David Montes, general manager at Tower Records in downtown Manhattan. “We only had 10 records in stock, and we had to order 150 right off the bat as soon as we came in this morning.”
“Two Against Nature” sold relatively well upon its release a year ago – 1.5 million worldwide, compared with 8 million sales for its Album of the Year competitor, Eminem’s “The Marshall Mathers LP” – but “has been sitting on the shelves ever since,” according to one record store worker.
But Grammy wins always translate into a big spike in sales for the artists’ records. Stores are gearing up this weekend for a run on releases from the performers who dominated the 43rd Grammys, including veteran rockers Steely Dan, U2, Eminem and Faith Hill – each took home three trophies.
“The biggest jump will be Steely Dan’s record,” says Dennis Manzanedo, senior buyer for New York’s three Virgin Megastores. “Sales had leveled off, but the Grammy wins will throw it right back out again into the mainstream.”
A stand-out performance at the Grammys can boost sales as much as a win.
Those who stand to benefit most from appearances at the star-studded ceremony include:
* Best New Artist nominee Jill Scott, who performed Moby’s “Natural Blues” with Moby and the surreal Blue Man Group.
* Best New Artist winner Shelby Lynne, who sang a duet with Sheryl Crow.
* Macy Gray, who sang her Best Female Pop Vocal Performance-winning song, “I Try.”
* U2, who performed its beatific tune “Beautiful Day,” which won honors for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Rock Performance by a Group or Duo.
In the end, the tsunami of Eminem-related controversy that threatened to drown out the music at the Grammys didn’t amount to much.
The duet between the 28-year-old rage-rapper, the target of protests, and openly gay pop icon Elton John was passionately delivered, but quite tame by Eminem’s standards.
“I think it’ll open up a completely new market for Eminem,” Manzanedo says.
Steely Dan’s “Two Against Nature,” the duo’s first studio album in 20 years, touched on issues of incest and pedophilia, but that was overshadowed by the furor surrounding Eminem.
“We’d like to thank Eminem for taking the heat” for controversial lyrics, Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen said backstage.
The Em controversy didn’t have an appreciable impact on the ratings. The show, broadcast live on CBS, drew an estimated 26.8 million viewers, about 1 million fewer than last year, when Carlos Santana swept the major awards, according to Nielsen Media Research. Still, it was the second most-watched Grammy telecast since 1993, according to Nielsen.