By Andy Goldberg Feb 3, 2006, 10:16 GMT
Los Angeles - The Grammy Awards - the music industry's equivalent of the Oscars - are notoriously hard to predict, probably because they are chosen by whimsical musicians.
US-Singer Mariah Carey during the announcements of the 48th Annual Grammy Award nominations at Gotham Hall, Thursday 08 December 2005 in New York. Carey was nominated for eight Grammys, including album of the year for "The Emancipation of Mimi" and song and record of the year for her torch ballad 'We Belong Together'. EPA/JUSTIN LANE
But this much we know for sure about the event that will attract the world's premier divas, rockers, rappers and crooners at Los Angeles' Staples Center on Wednesday February 8: Seminal British rockers David Bowie and Eric Clapton are to receive Lifetime Achievement Awards along with country icon Merle Haggard, late bluesman Robert Johnson and late comedy innovator Richard Pryor.
Even more exciting is the prospect of Madonna, 47, opening the 48th annual Grammy show in a joint performance with the Gorillaz - the virtual band that will appear in what is touted as a revolutionary 3D animated format.
Yet for all the great technology on display, organizers and participants will be keenly aware that their industry is at an unprecedented crossroads largely due to the impact of new technology.
Album sales have dropped in four of the last five years largely due to the prevalence of file sharing technologies that have seen millions of music lovers download their tunes for free. In the last year legal download sites like iTunes have experienced phenomenal growth and grossed a total of 1.1 billion dollars in sales, but industry revenues for the year were still down 2 per cent.
Other technological challenges include the wide variety of entertainment options that are distracting attention from the music world. In addition, home recording technologies and websites like myspace.com are bypassing the traditional studio and marketing systems. All this sounds ominous for the industry, but illegal download levels are finally falling and the huge popularity of ring- tones for cellphones is a sign of the opportunities that technology is presenting to the industry.
There is also still huge interest worldwide in the premier music award show in the U.S., and keen belief in the industry that it remains as relevant as ever.
So what's going to happen on the most important night of the music industry's calendar?
The nominations race is led by Mariah Carey, Kanye West and newcomer John Legend all with eight apiece. Following them with six nods each are 50 Cent, Beyoncé, Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas' and Stevie Wonder. Other notable nominees include Missy Elliott, Alicia Keys, Bruce Springsteen, Gwen Stefani and U2 (five each), and Common, Destiny's Child, Foo Fighters, Gorillaz, Neptunes, Brad Paisley, Phil Tan and Gretchen Wilson (four). Paul McCartney is hoping that his three nominations yield his 14th Grammy.
Carey, West and McCartney will battle it out in the album of the year category, with 'The Emancipation of Mimi', 'Late Registration' and 'Chaos and Creation in the Backyard'. Also competing for the award are Gwen Stefani with 'Love. Angel. Music. Baby.' and U2's 'How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb'.
Carey, West and the Gorillaz are considered favourites for record of the year but face strong competition from Green Day and Stefani.
Legend is up for the best new artist award along with Ciara, Fall Out Boy, Keane and Sugarland.
Just as interesting as the awards are the 12 musical performances, including some intriguing collaborations and an all star tribute to soul icons Sly and the Family Stone.
Viewers will see R&B diva Mary J. Blige join U2 for the first time while country superstars Keith Urban and Faith Hill will also perform together.
Other collaborations include Oscar winner Jamie Foxx with Kanye West and Grammy nominees Christina Aguilera and Herbie Hancock, who will hit the stage for what is being touted as 'an intimate performance'.
Springsteen, Coldplay, Sugarland and Ciara are also scheduled to perform, while the list of presenters looks like a veritable who's who of entertainment royalty, including Destiny's Child, James Taylor, seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, Matt Dillon, Tom Hanks, Terrence Howard, Queen Latifah and Ludacris.
If that leaves some fans unimpressed that's OK. A lot of the artists are too - especially the ones who still think of themselves as alternative and non-commercial. Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters revealed that he isnt at all excited about his three nominations or getting to mingle with his industry's biggest stars.
'You get the fam (sic) all dressed up, and put 'em in the same room as Mariah Carey,' quipped Grohl. 'And all of a sudden your career is validated.'
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