Over the years, we’ve seen many Real Housewives attempt music careers. While some of their songs are catchy, most of them fail to receive any critical acclaim for obvious reasons. However, Candiace Dillard Bassett from The Real Housewives of Potomac is doing things a bit differently. She’s reaching new heights and legitimizing her music career.
In the last season of The Real Housewives of Potomac, we followed Candiace as she took steps to further her music career. Her track “Drive Back” was the unofficial anthem of season 5, and despite all the salad-tossing drama, she finished the season strong by releasing her debut full-length album Deep Space. Now, she just announced her latest career milestone — she’s been invited to join the Recording Academy as part of the class of 2022.
The RHOP star took to her Instagram to share the exciting career news, writing, “SO humbled and HONORED to have completed the process and be invited to join the @recordingacademy (yes, the Grammys but SO much more).”
She continued, “This is a wonderfully full circle moment for me and I cannot wait to get down and dirty keeping ART alive locally and globally. And shout out to my DC chapter! I am ready!”
So what exactly does it mean to be invited to the Recording Academy? It’s a pretty big deal and much more prestigious than a string of cabaret shows in Florida. It positions Candiace as more than just a Real Housewife with some songs on Spotify and more of a legitimate musician recognized by the music industry.
To join the Recording Academy, new members must first receive recommendations from two peers in the music industry. They also have to demonstrate to the Academy that they are legitimate recording artists by submitting samples of their recordings, press coverage, and more. The bottom line is – it takes more than just wanting to be in the Recording Academy to join. You have to prove that music is your career.
Now that Candiace is a member of the Recording Academy, she’ll be able to participate in advocacy work for the music industry, connect with industry professionals, and, most notably, she’ll be able to vote on the next round of Grammy nominations.
According to Billboard, Candiace is joined by over 2,000 other new invitees this year, representing 22 different music genres. The Academy is making an effort to diversify its ranks, and they reported that 56% of this year’s invitees are from underrepresented communities.
In an Instagram video welcoming their new members, a representative from the Recording Academy described the important work they’re doing, outside of just voting on Grammys. They said, “Our new members symbolize the future of the Academy and represent the direction we are headed in as an organization and the music community at large. Their new ideas, recommendations, and observations help us drive positive progress as we continue our evolution.”
TELL US – WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT CANDIACE TAKING THIS NEXT STEP IN HER MUSIC CAREER? ARE YOU A FAN OF HER MUSIC?
[Photo Credit: Charles Sykes/Bravo]