USA: It's still anybody's game, but the 48th annual Grammy Awards could be Mariah Carey's big night

Record ID: 644595

  • Title: USA: It's still anybody's game, but the 48th annual Grammy Awards could be Mariah Carey's big night
  • Date: 9th February 2006
  • Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK USA (FEBRUARY 6, 2006) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ERIK PARKER, MUSIC EDITOR OF VIBE MAGAZINE SAYING: "This year, it's a three way tie between nominations this year, you have Mariah Carey, John Legend and Kanye West all with eight. They all could potentially bring home many Grammys, but because Mariah Carey had such a good year this year, it looks like Mariah Carey will be coming home with the most."
  • Embargoed: 24th February 2006 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA2RSNTCPGN50TLKZYQY8JLDJNG
  • Story Text: With the 48th Annual Grammy Awards just a day away, the race seems to be on between comeback queen Mariah Carey, rapper Kanye West and newcomer John Legend - each nominated for eight awards. Carey's "The Emancipation of Mimi" was nominated for best album of the year, while the ballad "We Belong Together" made the grade for best record of the year, a triumph for a woman whose career was all but written off just a few years ago. West was also nominated in those two categories, for the song "Gold Digger" and the hit album "Late Registration," while his protg Legend was nominated for best new artist and best male R&B vocal performance.
    The other nominees for record of the year were "Feel Good Inc" by Gorillaz featuring De La Soul, "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day and "Hollaback Girl" by Gwen Stefani.
    Erik Parker, Music Editor of Vibe magazine, says the Album of the Year category is the prize to take home and he narrows the competition down to West and Carey. "No question that the biggest category at the Grammy's is album of the year. And, every year there's a big fight at the end. every year there's some sort of discrepancy. But if you're looking at Mariah Carey who had such a huge year, great comeback for Mariah Carey. This is the year that she proved all her critics wrong. So she's really looking like one of the Cinderella stories. You also have Kanye West, and there's a great battle heating up between Mariah Carey and Kanye West. And both have great impactful albums over the year. So you're looking at those two to really fight it out over the year," he explained.
    Irish rockers U2, also nominated five times including for album of the year with "How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb." Other artists picking up six nominations each were rap superstar 50 Cent and R&B diva Beyonce Knowles, while rapper Missy Elliot, Alicia Keys and Gwen Stefani took five each.
    Music legend Paul McCartney was also nominated in the Best Male Pop Vocal Performance category for "Fine Line" off his latest album Chaos and Creation in the Backyard. The eight nominations were a vindication for Carey whose album has been one of the biggest sellers of the year, with world-wide sales of more than 7 million copies, according to her Island Def Jam label. The single "We Belong Together" ruled the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 14 weeks.
    And as for who will take home the most statues, Parkerputs his bet on Carey. "This year, it's a three way tie between nominations this year, you have Mariah Carey, John Legend and Kanye West all with eight. They all could potentially bring home many Grammy's, but because Mariah Carey had such a good year this year, it looks like Mariah Carey will be coming home with the most," he added. Four years ago, Carey's career hit the skids as she released a flop movie and album. Her previous label, Virgin Records, which had just signed her to a contract reportedly worth 80 million U.S. dollars, paid her 28 million (USD) to leave. The Grammy Awards are held on February 8, at Los Angeles' Staples Center.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register