Canadian polka king decries Grammy snub
AFP
OTTAWA - Canada's best-selling polka singer Walter Ostanek is aghast that his category has been dropped by the US Recording Academy in a reshuffling of the Grammy Awards, he told local media Friday.
During his 50-year career, Ostanek has been nominated for 21 Grammys, and won three starting in 1992 for albums "35th Anniversary," "Accordionally Yours" and "Music and Friends."
"I feel sad," Ostanek, who is a member of the Order of Canada, this nation's highest civilian honor, and was inducted into the International Polka Hall of Fame in Chicago, said in an interview with CTV.
"There's room for our music," he told public broadcaster CBC.
The Academy said in a statement the polka category was cut to "ensure the awards process remains representative of the current musical landscape."
Grammy organizers also combined best Latin urban and best Latin rock or alternative categories into one, and split a folk category in two, renaming the entire folk field "American roots music."
Organizers will now have 109 awards to present at next year's Grammys ceremony, scheduled for January 31, 2010.
Polka music is a form of dance music that originated in what is now the Czech Republic. Often associated with Germany's Oktoberfest, its accordion melodies remain popular in the Canadian and US Midwest and Great Lakes regions.
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"There's room for our music," he told public broadcaster CBC.
The Academy said in a statement the polka category was cut to "ensure the awards process remains representative of the current musical landscape."
Grammy organizers also combined best Latin urban and best Latin rock or alternative categories into one, and split a folk category in two, renaming the entire folk field "American roots music."
Organizers will now have 109 awards to present at next year's Grammys ceremony, scheduled for January 31, 2010.
Polka music is a form of dance music that originated in what is now the Czech Republic. Often associated with Germany's Oktoberfest, its accordion melodies remain popular in the Canadian and US Midwest and Great Lakes regions.
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