articles
January 4, 2001
The Grammy Grab
by Barbara Fletcher
OK, music fans, mark off Wednesday, February 21 on your calendar. It's time for the Great Grammy Grab.
The Recording Academy has announced the nominees
for the 43rd annual Grammy Awards which will be held for the second year in a row at the
Staples Center in Los Angeles.
The three-plus hour show will run on the CBS
Television Network starting at 8:00 PM, EST, and will be
broadcast to over 180 countries to an anticipated 2 billion viewers.
To date, both pop goddess Madonna and ever-popular U2 have been confirmed for live performances.
Unlike last year's Santana-fest (10 nominations) a quick tally of this year's nominations
confirms a more even distribution. Destiny's Child and
Dr. Dre top the list with five nominations each,
R&B singer Joe and
Eminem
scored four nominations, and 'N Sync,
U2,
Madonna,
Steely Dan,
Don Henley, and
Jill Scott landed three nominations.
And, sadly, but not surprising, for this year's awards there are few
Canadian Grammy nominees.
So what's the big scoop on the upcoming Grammys?
For one, Eminem's four nominations are
rattling
the media. His work has been heavily criticized for sexism, homophobia, and violence against women --
and in Canada to the point where appeals were made by the Ontario Attorney to the federal government to
prevent the artist from entering the country. But this hasn't stopped him from becoming one of this
year's favourites at the Grammys.
The Album of the Year nominations also offer up a few surprises. While one is not surprised
to see Beck,
the ever-controversial Eminem, and
Radiohead nominated in this category,
the other two are head-shakers.
Steely Dan's Two Against Nature is
their first studio album in 20 years, and Paul
Simon's You're the One is his first album in 10 -- but hopefully these nominations are not
rooted in their American music icon status now that they are both gearing up for induction into the
Rock and Rock Hall of Fame in March.
The nominees for Record of the Year include heavy-hitters Destiny's Child
(Say My Name), Macy Gray (I Try),
Madonna (Music), 'N Sync (Bye Bye Bye), and U2 (Beautiful Day).
Song of the Year nominations include U2's uplifting "Beautiful Day", Faith Hill's "Breathe",
Lee Ann Womack's "I Hope You Dance", Macy Gray's "I Try", and Destiny's Child's "Say My Name".
So, stay tuned and start stocking up on popcorn -- or earplugs, dependent upon what you get out of
the Grammys: satisfaction or grief.