Awards shows are just popularity contests.
That's a sweeping generalization to make - it's not entirely true, it really depends on the awards. I've been a judge at some like Awit and NU and they have different mechanics. The Awit Awards has more credibility among critics because the judges are usually music industry types who spend hours listening to tracks before they can make a decision - and the results are then audited by an accounting firm.
There are some people's awards at the Awit awards where winners are determined by SMS voting but on the whole this awards body relies on judges who spend a day or two listening and judging. I did this for 2 years and man it was a lotta work.
NU Rock Awards has lowered expectations for me as a critical bellweather since it was launched mainly as a radio station promo. The popularity aspect comes in because the nominees are nominated by popular vote - initially just in the rolling polling booths and for a few years, through Internet polling (PhilMusic did the Internet polling for a couple of years some years back). The criteria is anyone who has released an album or single for the qualifying period is eligible. Thus you can be the hottest band but may not be eligible because you don't have an album out.
So the listeners determine "the nominees" - and as in all popular votes, yes this is a popularity contest not a critical one. The final list of nominees is based on the top 5 of each category. Now at this point NU107 brings out its board of judges, who vote for who they think are the best.
But it doesn't stop there --- apart from the board of judges, the NU DJs themselves have a say in the final outcome. The exception is if the DJ is actually a musician nominated (and given the nature of NU DJs, a lot of them are actually musicians) in a category in which he is disqualified in that category. Atom Henares had to step in a make that rule at one point. Thus Francis Reyes cannot judge in any category where The Dawn is nominated for example.
So the Rock Awards are partly a popularity poll - mainly the popular favorites of the listeners --- and the DJs themselves. You can call it what you want but it is not really a critical bellweather. But everyone knows this anyway and doesn't complain because at the end of the day the Rock Awards is really just a great year-end party for the mainstream rock industry. So it's all good. Sometimes you don't remember who won what in a particular year but you do know who played because the performances are truly memorable.
The only ones who complain are the armchair critics who don't know how the system above works.
