Example? Heap's first album, i Megaphone, was released on the now-defunct Almo Sound imprint way back in 1998, when she was still in her teens. Afterward, Heap joined Frou Frou, a duo that put out a full-length entitled Details circa 2002. A Frou Frou track subsequently turned up on the CD companion to the 2004 Zach Braff movie Garden State, which (you guessed it) won a Grammy in the Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media classification.
This last honor suggests strongly that a large number of Grammy voters have known about Heap's talents for quite a while. But in their eyes, apparently, the acclaim garnered by the 2005 disc Speak For Yourself has made her new again -- or new enough, anyway, to keep the Fray out of Grammy's Best New Artist sweepstakes.
To check out the complete Imogen Heap story, click here. -- Michael Roberts