Many were surprised when the Neptunes – who have been working as producers with numerous leading dance and pop acts in the last year, as well as in their own right as NERD – were missing from the best producer category in the Grammy nominations. Rolling Stone's music editor Joe Levy said: "I don't think anyone can argue that there is a better or more important production team than the Neptunes. They are ridiculously good and ridiculously successful, and it is shocking that they should be overlooked in this category."
It now seems they were lacking because nobody put them forward for nomination. It is the job of the labels to put forward artists who they believe are eligible for the Grammys. Labels are meant to submit the names of eligible acts in the summer – volunteers then check eligibility before sending a list of contenders to the 13,000 voting members of the American Music Academy. It seems no one submitted to Neptunes name.
It may well be a case of everyone assuming everyone else was doing it. The Neptunes release music as NERD via Virgin, but their own label Star Track is owned by BMG label Arista, there’s a chance both assumed the other would put them forward. Though one industry insider talking to the New York Times reckoned it was the job of the Neptunes themselves to make sure they were put forward.
"It's a very surprising example of not dotting the i's and crossing the t's," producer Jimmy Jam, who was nominated for best producer category. "I really love them a lot and feel sorry for them. It's an unfortunate thing, but maybe it will be a wake-up call."
The Neptunes could still have some success on the night – they were the producing team behind four singles nominated for Grammys: Justin Timberlake's ‘Like I Love You’, Busta Rhymes and P. Diddy's ‘Pass the Courvoisier Part II’, Mystikal's ‘Bouncin' Back (Bumpin' Me Against the Wall)’ and Nelly's ‘Hot in Herre’. They also produced much of Nelly’s ‘Nellyville’ which is up for album of the year.