EVANESCENCE singer Amy Lee recently discussed the band’s surprising victory over 50 Cent for the “Best New Artist” award at the 2004 Grammy Awards in an interview with Daily Beast.
Despite 50 Cent‘s immense popularity and the success of his debut album Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ the previous year, EVANESCENCE emerged victorious. The rapper controversially interrupted EVANESCENCE‘s acceptance speech at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, showcasing his disappointment at losing the award. Amy Lee reflected on the unexpected win and the impact it had on both the band and their career.
“50 Cent hates my guts,” Lee said. “It’s just one of those things… I mean, truthfully, we thought he was going to win too. It was such a wild night. People are like, ‘What was it like to win a Grammy?’ and I’m like, ‘Stressful!’ I mean, it’s wonderful now, to have them, but it was surreal… I just remember thinking, ‘I don’t even think anybody in this room knows who we are.'”
“You know when you’re just in shock? He didn’t do anything. He didn’t grab the mic. It wasn’t that bad,” Amy continued. “He just sort of, like, made an appearance. It was like Zoolander when he thought he won.”
Amy was asked if the rapper had ever personally spoken to her after the incident, to which she replied: “No, he never said anything to me, but he likes to talk about me and how he was robbed. I don’t want to start a beef with him. Thank you for saying I looked unfazed, I was so fazed. Everything around me was chaos and I was, like, ‘I’m gonna stand here and see if this is real later, if I wake up or not.'”
