Here is why Tiwa Savage, Made Kuti and Femi Kuti can be Grammy winners... but partially [Pulse Explainer]
On March 14, 2021, the 63rd Grammy Awards held virtually. The awards were gender-inclusive and race-inclusive.
Nigerian superstars, Wizkid and Burna Boy also went home with Grammy Awards for Best Music Video and Best Global Music Album respectively. However, a bone of contention is whether Tiwa Savage, Femi Kuti and Made Kuti are actually Grammy Award winners.
Coldplay's 2019 effort, Everyday Life got Best Record Packing and Album of The Year nods. Nigerian stars, Tiwa Savage, Femi Kuti and Made Kuti all featured on the album. The Kutis featured on the amazing record, 'Arabesque' where Femi Kuti had an amazing Trumpet solo while Tiwa Savage worked on 'Eko.'
Will they be Grammy winners if Coldplay won Album of The Year?
Yes, but partially.
The rule for that category states that, "For albums containing at least 51% playing time of new vocal or instrumental recordings. Award to Artist(s) and to Featured Artist(s), Songwriter(s) of new material, Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s), Mixer(s) and Mastering Engineer(s) credited with at least 33% playing time of the album, if other than Artist."
Vox clarifies that, "Generally, if you participated in creating a significant portion of the album (defined as at least 33 percent of its playing time), you get a golden gramophone."
Since the three Nigerian artists didn't participate in creating 33% of the album, they will only get Grammy certificates. not gramophones and that's good enough. It will be Femi Kuti's first semblance of a win from five nominations.
If Coldplay wins for Best Recording Packaging, they will get nothing. The award is only s presented to the art director of the winning album, not to the performer(s), unless the performer is also the art director.
On the other hand, Wizkid who is a featured artist gets a statuette, which is the coveted Gramophone.