LOS ANGELES -- Dick Clark says any recording artist interested in acceptance
from their peers should hope for a Grammy Award.
But those interested in their careers, he adds, should shoot for an
American Music Award.
Unlike the Grammys, awarded by music-industry voters, American Music
Awards winners are chosen by listeners across the country.
"If I were an artist interested in longevity and a career, I'd be
interested in the American Music Awards," said Clark. "I'd want that
trophy on my shelf because these awards are a reflection of popular taste."
"Without a doubt, this show is a popularity contest," said
Clark, who is serving as executive producer of the awards show. "We make no
bones about it."
Comedian Norm MacDonald has been tapped to host the 27th annual American
Music Awards, set to air tonight on ABC. Winners are decided by votes from a
sampling of about 20,000 music fans nationwide.
Performers scheduled to appear on the three-hour show include Lenny
Kravitz, Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey, the Eurythmics and Enrique Iglesias.
Clark said he is excited by this year's diverse slate of nominees. The
favorite pop-rock musician categories include such musicians as Latin sensation
Ricky Martin, R&B veteran Whitney Houston, retro-funk rocker Lenny Kravitz
and 1970s hitmaker Carlos Santana, who returned to commercial success in 1999
with the smash album "Supernatural."
"The American Music Awards is one of the few times you get people of
all ages to watch a show and have the kids saying, 'See, Dad, that's the music
I'm talking about,"' Clark said. "Or you have adults telling their
kids, 'See, that's Carlos Santana. I've been telling you about him for years.
That's who he is."'
Santana is nominated for favorite pop-rock band, duo or group, along with
the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync.
"Supernatural," combining the guitarist's searing instrumentals
with vocal collaborators such as Dave Matthews, Lauryn Hill and Rob Thomas, also
is nominated for favorite pop or rock album. The other nominees are the
Backstreet Boys' "Millennium" and Britney Spears' "...Baby One
More Time."
The American Music Awards traditionally are a buildup to the Grammys,
which will be presented Feb. 23.
Santana leads Grammy nominees with 10, including record and album of the
year. The album also scored a songwriting nomination for Itaal Shur and Thomas
for the single "Smooth."
"I feel very grateful and honored, but I don't trip on it because I
don't go to work on an album with award expectations," Santana said after
the Grammy nominations came out this month. "That's just not my motivation.
My motivation is to reach people's hearts."
Tonight's awards show also will feature results of an Internet poll on
listeners' favorite musical artists for each decade from the 1950s through the
1980s.
AMA NOMINEES
POP-ROCK
MALE ARTIST: Lenny Kravitz, Ricky Martin, Will Smith.
FEMALE ARTIST: Whitney Houston, Britney Spears, Shania Twain.
BAND, DUO OR GROUP: Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync, Santana.
ALBUM: "Millennium," Backstreet Boys; "... Baby One More
Time," Britney Spears; "Supernatural," Santana.
NEW ARTIST: Kid Rock, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears.
SOUL-RHYTHM & BLUES
MALE ARTIST: Busta Rhymes, Ginuwine, R. Kelly.
FEMALE ARTIST: Brandy, Lauryn Hill, Whitney Houston.
BAND, DUO OR GROUP: Dru Hill, K-Ci & JoJo, TLC.
ALBUM: "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill," Lauryn Hill; "My
Love Is Your Love," Whitney Houston; "FanMail," TLC.
NEW ARTIST: Eve, 702, Tyrese.
COUNTRY
MALE ARTIST: Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw, George Strait.
FEMALE ARTIST: Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Shania Twain.
BAND, DUO OR GROUP: Brooks & Dunn, Diamond Rio, Dixie Chicks.
ALBUM: "Double Live," Garth Brooks; "Fly," Dixie
Chicks; "Always Never the Same," George Strait.
NEW ARTIST: Sara Evans, Montgomery Gentry, SheDaisy.
OTHER
ADULT CONTEMPORARY ARTIST: Cher, Phil Collins, Shania Twain.
LATIN MUSIC ARTIST: Enrique Iglesias, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin.
RAP/HIP HOP ARTIST: DMX, Jay-Z, Juvenile.
ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ARTIST: Kid Rock, Limp Bizkit, Red Hot Chili Peppers.
SOUNDTRACK: "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me,"
"Runaway Bride," "Wild Wild West."
