Lady Gaga wasn’t nominated in the Best New Artist category at last January’s Grammys, though that’s obviously not because she wasn’t the best new artist, but rather that she was ineligible owing to some red tape: “Just Dance†had been nominated (as a single) at the previous Grammys, and previous Grammy nominees couldn’t be nominated for Best New Artist. Since you don’t just step on Lady Gaga like that and get away with it, the whole system has been revamped so that “that situation won’t repeat itself,†Recording Academy president Neil Portnow said. Now, as long as the artist hadn’t released an entire album when previously nominated for a Grammy, and the artist didn’t previously win a Grammy (as was the case with the seemingly rare perfect storm of the Gaga snub), he or she can still be considered a Best New Artist. “More and more, the first release of a new artist is as a featured artist on someone else’s album or the new artist may release a single long before the release of his/her/their entire first album,†the Academy said in a statement. Let’s just not even get started on album leaks, though. [AP]