I'll add this question to the Round 2 ballot. If it wins, the other ballot results will be superfluous, but I don't think that there's a need to delay everything else until we have a verdict on this topic:
5. Switching from Genre-Based Nominations To All General Ballot Nominations
Should all Performer nomination votes be based on General Votes instead of a mix of Genre nomination votes and General Votes?
A. Yes (General Votes Only)
B. No (Genre Votes and General Votes) (Current)
Is The Committee Afraid? Acts That Almost Certainly Get Inducted Over The Nominating Committee's Pet Picks:
Alice In Chains
The B-52's
Beck (as of right now)
Boston
Coldplay
Daft Punk
Diana Ross
Dr. Dre
Kanye West
The Monkees
Smashing Pumpkins
Weezer
There's other names that could become "scary" for those wanting to let mediocrity slide in, such as names like INXS and Lauryn Hill returning to the 2027 ballot and/or Beyonce and/or Kayne West making their first appearance.
Likewise, since the committee is unlikely to nominate even 6 of these acts on a single ballot, there's other names that are basically also "locks" for induction if they appear on the 2027 ballot as well, simply through virtue of reduced competition (Jethro Tull, Barry White, Tears For Fears, De La Soul, etc.)
Was Sykes the one who attached the warning screen to the online ballot where it's like "Please take this seriously, are you SURE the acts you were voting for were important?"
I still feel that was pretty nonsensical because it basically means he doesn't trust the Nominating Committee either to not put up garbage choices, and furthermore, doesn't trust the voters not to enshrine them.
A ballot with Melissa Etheridge, Black Crowes, P!nk and, yes, New Edition does, in fact, have major issues. The fact that group hive-mind and myopia could lead to those names getting on the ballot over the many that never have says a lot about the committee's credentials.
And I do agree that the committee, for years, has been fearful of certain names. Acts like Bad Company represented AUTOMATIC inductions that would take a slot away from everybody else's pet picks, so they had to wait in the cold so Chaka Khan's hopeless case could continue to be pushed, etc.
Coldplay is a slam dunk. And this committee doesn't like that.
Darren wrote: