You could not transfer for 50 Cent come the beginning of 2004. The rap megastar born Curtis Jackson had been dominating mainstream media for a yr straight: his debut album, Get Wealthy Or Die Tryin’, was the biggest-selling LP of 2003 and the fastest-selling debut album by any hip hop artist in historical past, shifting a cool 872,000 copies in its first week, and going onto promote over 12 million extra.
Fiddy’s instantaneous, club-ready bangers (In Da Membership is in your head proper now, admit it), famous person associates (found by Eminem, produced by Dr. Dre) and unhealthy boy picture (dealt narcotics in school, shot 9 instances in entrance of his grandma’s home in Queens – prompt anti-hero folklore) made him the poster boy for an imminent new wave of gangsta rap and one of many single greatest younger names in music. By the point of the 2004 Grammys, it appeared like a shoe-in that he’d be strolling residence with the Greatest New Artist gong.
Besides, that is not the way it panned out. On the opposite aspect of the music aisle, a rock band from Little Rock, Arkansas named Evanescence had been making waves of their very own. Fronted by a magnetic, hyper-talented frontwoman in Amy Lee and armed with the final nice anthem of the nu metallic period in Convey Me To Life, their debut album Fallen was doing splendid enterprise itself – 141,000 copies in its first week could have been a approach off the heady gross sales initially amassed by ol’ Curtis, however the cult across the band was rising, and quick.
Nonetheless, because the forty sixth annual Grammy awards rolled round on February 8, 2004 on the Staples Heart in Los Angeles, 50 Cent was very a lot seen because the undisputed favorite for that Greatest New Artist award, and was additionally within the combine for Greatest Rap Album and Greatest Male Rap Solo Efficiency, albeit pitched in opposition to some true titans in these classes together with Eminem, Missy Elliot, Outkast and Jay-Z.
Evanescence, in the meantime, discovered themselves with three nominations of their very own – Greatest New Artist alongside 50, Fountains Of Wayne, Heather Hadley and Sean Paul – in addition to Album Of The 12 months for Fallen and Greatest Onerous Rock Efficiency for Convey Me To Life. Following a turbulent interval for the band – co-founding member Ben Moody had left below acrimonious circumstances a number of months prior – Amy was completely happy to see their work get recognition.
“So many nominations is one thing that I do not assume any of us had been anticipating in any respect,” she modestly instructed CNN on the pink carpet that night time. “We’re very honoured.”
“I used to be fairly positive that we weren’t going to win, no less than not Greatest New Artist,” Amy confirmed years later to Metallic Hammer. “I assumed for positive that may be 50 Cent. We had been 100% the darkish horse. I felt like, ‘Individuals don’t know who I’m’…I’m a 21-, 22-year-old child, making an attempt to decorate up like a grown-up and I had my footwear off after they known as our title. I don’t usually put on heels. They’re very uncomfortable!”
Each artists had picked up a variety of awards from different organisations heading into the Grammys, however 50 Cent’s cupboard was already beginning to appear to be one thing out of Smaug’s cave – Billboard alone had handed him no fewer than sixteen gongs the earlier yr.
The stage was set for hip hop’s new prince to be formally topped…after which, one of the crucial stunning swerves in Grammys historical past went down.
Because the yr’s earlier winner Norah Jones, accompanied by Lord Of The Rings star Sean Astin, learn out Evanescence’s title because the winners of the Greatest New Artist award, the shock on the band’s face was clearly legit. The shock on 50 Cent’s face was clearly legit too, as he rushed the stage seconds after Amy had picked up the award, sarcastically strolling previous everybody earlier than making a confused face on the digicam.
“You already know while you’re simply in shock?” Amy instructed The Each day Beast in 2023. “He didn’t do something, he didn’t seize the mic, it wasn’t that unhealthy. He simply form of made an look. It was like Zoolander when he thought he received.”
Clearly bemused by the entire thing however refusing to be rattled, Amy took all of it in fairly good humour when giving her winner’s speech.
“Oh, what did I do? That is my first time!” she remarked with a smile, watching 50 Cent disappear. “Thanks 50! Along with 50 Cent, I’d prefer to thank my document label Wind-Up for locating us, particularly [label boss] Diana Meltzer for believing in me.”
She additionally made a degree of recognising how uncommon it was (and sadly nonetheless is, let’s be actual) to see a lady choose up a rock award. “Thanks to the followers,” she continued, “as a result of I do know that there’s no approach that trendy rock would have put a chick and a piano on trendy rock radio if it wasn’t for the followers calling in time and again, so thanks guys.”
Regardless of Evanescence proving their value twice over by additionally bagging the award for Greatest Onerous Rock Efficiency, the aftermath of their victory was dominated by discourse over how 50 Cent had been ‘screwed’ out of what appeared like a assured win – maybe made all of the sorer by the very fact the rapper did not stroll out with any awards that night time.
“I really feel like I acquired jerked on the Grammys as a result of I’m aggressive,” he instructed MuchMusic quickly after, blaming the choice on Grammy “politics”. “I don’t perceive how they get greatest new artist.”
The loss made critical ripples within the hip hop group: showing on Oprah the next yr, Kanye West voiced his shock that fifty did not choose up the win.
“I struggle for what I believe is the perfect on the time,” he insisted. “50 Cent didn’t win any Grammys! I went on TV the following day and I stated, ‘You all robbed 50 Cent of his Grammys’. He was an important factor. He was the soundtrack to our life in 2003.”
It was a sentiment 50’s collaborator and mentor, Eminem, echoed years later.
“50 Cent didn’t win Greatest New Artist on the Grammys,” he stated in an interview with Sway Colloway in 2018. “There was nothing greater. Nothing since perhaps Snoop got here out the gate like that. My first album didn’t do it. I by no means noticed somebody’s first album and the wave occur like he had – after which he doesn’t get it?!”
Whereas the hip hop group’s vitriol did not appear to be directed at Evanescence a lot as on the Grammys themselves, it is clearly one thing that has caught with 50 Cent ever since – “It’s the most important debut album in hip hop to this point, and I used to be missed!” he fumed years later.
Talking on the ceremony for the reveal of his star on the Hollywood Stroll Of Fame in 2020, flanked by Eminem and Dr Dre, poor Curtis could not resist one other dig.
“I didn’t obtain quite a lot of awards in keeping with the success of the music,” he stated with a smirk. “You bought the most important debut hip hop album – and also you don’t acquired no Greatest New Artist trophy. The Greatest New Artist, they gave that shit to Evanescence!”
Clearly having not paid consideration to rock music by any means over the earlier 20 years, 50 added: “Can you discover Evanescence? I ain’t seen Evanescence since that night time!”
“50 Cent hates my guts,” Amy Lee chuckled in an interview with Each day Beast in 2023. “It’s simply a kind of issues. I imply, in truth, we thought he was going to win too. It was such a wild night time. Individuals are like, ‘What was it prefer to win a Grammy?’ and I’m like, ‘Aggravating!’ I imply, it’s great now, to have them, but it surely was surreal…I simply bear in mind pondering, ‘I don’t even assume anyone on this room is aware of who we’re.’”
Nicely, the world undoubtedly is aware of who each Evanescence and 50 Cent are at present. It appears their early careers are ceaselessly destined to be awkwardly, chaotically intertwined.