January 5 [10:00 EDT] -- The nominees for the 40th Annual Grammy Awards will be announced Tuesday, January 6 at 8:30 a.m. EDT in New York City. There will be two additional categories to reflect the musical times this year, Remixer of the Year and Best Dance Recording.
The show itself will be taking place Wednesday, February 25th, at New York City's 6000-seat Radio City Music Hall, a switch from last year's presentation at the 20,000-seat Madison Square Garden. Prior Grammy awards were held most often at the 6300-seat Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The awards fall under the auspices of NARAS--the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
Artists favored to win major nominations on Tuesday include Erykah Badu, Hanson, Bob Dylan, LeAnn Rimes, Puff Daddy and Fiona Apple. According to a panel put together by the L.A. Times, the 9000-odd musically inclined NARAS members who do the voting are unlikely to award to many accolades to the marketing inclined Spice Girls, although they will likely receive a nomination for Best New Group.
The panel also expressed reservations about the status of songs relying heavily on sampled material and pointed out that the three major hits that dominated the charts this past year are not eligible for song awards because they're not considered original, although they can be nominated in performance categories. Elton John's "Candle in the Wind 1997" is a rewrite of his earlier hit; Puff Daddy's "I'll Be Missing You" is taken from "Every Breath You Take" by the Police; and Will Smith's "Men in Black" soundtrack song heavily sample's Patrice Rushen's "Forget Me Not." The Song of the Year category, perhaps the top award in Grammy-ville, is now wide open.
Also, Dylan family followers who are hoping to see Father Bob up against son Jakob won't get the chance. While the senior Dylan's "Time Out Of Mind" is considered a good bet for Album of the Year, the Wallflowers' "Bringing Down The Horse" was released before the eligibility window and thus doesn't qualify for that category. And those who thought they'd had enough of Celine Dion last year will only receive a partial reprieve this year. While her recently released new album missed the eligibility period, her duet with Barbra Streisand did not. It's expected to be a contender in a number of categories.
Artists considered contenders but not shoo-ins include the likes of Sarah McLachlan, Paula Cole and Chumbawamba.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Kelsey Grammer will be hosting the event. As previously reported, Bo Diddley, Paul Robeson, the Mills Bros. and Roy Orbison will be receiving Lifetime Achievement Awards. There were 89 awards handed out last year -- with the vast majority of them (75) announced prior to the broadcast.
For more Grammy news, check out the MTV News Grammy Archive.
