Top Vocalists Aren’t Strangers

Last year didn’t produce a big, breakout R&B; album for the Grammy voters to rally behind. There was no preordained critical favorite like “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” which barreled into the Grammy ceremony last year and wrested the big awards with little resistance.

Instead, the voters were left with a mixed bag of newcomers and veterans--from upstarts such as Macy Gray and Maxwell to legend Barry White, who experienced a resurgence thanks to his appearances on “Ally McBeal.”

With no shoo-ins, the Grammy voters came up with some surprising choices, even for this maddeningly unpredictable academy.

In the male vocal category, the voters had a weak field from which to choose, with bland-on-bland fare such as Peabo Bryson’s “Did You Ever Know?” and R. Kelly’s “When a Woman’s Fed Up.” Still, opting for White’s “Staying Power” was a curious move. The title track from White’s last album is little more than a pallid rehash of his great, tumescent funk of the ‘70s.

In the female vocal category, Gray was robbed. Whitney Houston’s “It’s Not Right but It’s Okay” is just OK, while Gray’s “Do Something” was the only nominated track that didn’t sound as if it were assembled by committee.

If the full name of the R&B; performance by a duo or group with vocal means anything, the voters picked a great track, but in the wrong category. TLC’s “No Scrubs” is a triumph of production, not vocals, which sound computer-generated. Mary J. Blige and Aretha Franklin’s “Don’t Waste Your Time” would have been a more appropriate pick.

“No Scrubs’ ” selection as the best R&B; song, however, was justified. TLC’s “FanMail” was also the right pick for R&B; album; it was by far the strongest record in the field of five nominees.