Yet another association with a veteran artist -- Arie's duet on the post-September 11 anthem ''Peaceful World'' with roots-rocker John Mellencamp (a familiar face for Grammy voters) -- was also a key factor in raising Arie's profile. ''We diversified her audience with Mellencamp,'' Arie's comanager Jack Ponti says. '' It was nice that we could go in different areas. We never put her in a niche -- it's just India's music.'' Arie also appeared in an inescapable Gap TV ad, crooning Supertramp's ''Give A Little Bit,'' which didn't hurt (neither did a summer arena tour with Sade).
What's more, ''Acoustic Soul'''s unabashedly inspirational lyrics (''And I know my creator didn't make no mistakes on me/ My feet, my thighs, my lips, my eyes, I'm loving what I see'') and mellow arrangements, only lightly touched with hip-hop, are well-suited to the famously conservative taste of Grammy voters. In fact, Arie's Grammy triumph is in the tradition of the Recording Academy's underdog picks of such grown-up- friendly artists as Bonnie Raitt and jazz singer Diana Krall, according to Tom O'Neil, coauthor of '''The Grammys: the Ultimate Unofficial Guide to Music's Highest Honor'' and host of the awards-race-handicapping Web.
O'Neil also thinks they were eager to recognize the neo-soul movement, but somewhat tired of the much-hyped (and critically praised) Alicia Keys, whose debut ''Songs in A Minor'' has sold over four million copies. ''Part of the Grammys' job is to be a queen-maker,'' says O'Neil. ''This is showbiz, and an important part of the showbiz are these Cinderella stories.''
Arie is competing against Keys for numerous awards, including Best New Artist, but Keys was snubbed in the Album of the Year category. Arie says that she sees Keys (who also writes her own songs and plays an instrument) as a kindred spirit, and that those who now see the two acts as bitter competitors are succumbing to sensationalism (Keys' label, J Records, declined comment for this story). ''When I look at everything, six ain't no small number and seven ain't no small number,'' Arie says. ''Alicia's seen a lot of success this year. I don't think it matters that much. I think it's just a silly thing.'' Did we mention Keys' label declined comment?
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