Grammys begin; Eminem is 'carrying on the tradition'

The stars arrive on the red carpet; from top to bottom, Charlotte Church, the members of N' Sync, and Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit

By Jamie Allen
CNN.com Senior Writer

(CNN) -- As the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences kicked off its 43rd Grammy Awards Wednesday evening to honor the best in music, anticipation and hype mounted over the possibilities of one man -- Eminem.

The rapper, who has been called a gay- and female-basher, will appear on the show, both as a performer with Elton John and as a possible winner. He's nominated for four Grammys, including album of the year for "The Marshall Mathers LP."

His presence at the event -- and the hard-core rants that fill his album -- have sparked outrage from some corners. Outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles, gay and women's rights advocates protested Eminem.

As artists arrived on the red carpet, the rapper was a popular topic of conversation.

"Just by his being here, Eminem has already contradicted himself," said singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins, referring to an Eminem lyric "You think I give a damn about a Grammy?" The line is uttered by the rapper in "The Real Slim Shady," which is up for a Grammy in the category Best Rap Solo.

Loggins, nominated this year for best musical album for children, says the fuss surrounding Eminem is nothing new.

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"Rock 'n' roll has always been shocking people," he said. "Sometimes the job of art is to shock people. Eminem is just carrying on a tradition."

Scott Seomin, spokesman for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, said Eminem should not be tolerated.

"Why Elton John is performing with him is baffling," Seomin said.

Some speculated what wild shenanigans might be realized by Eminem on the live show. But Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit, another controversial hard-core rap band nominated for best hard rock performance Grammy, says his friend Eminem will keep it real.

"I think he's not going to do anything," said Durst. "The media is making the controversy here."

Gloria Estefan, nominated for one Grammy, said the hype surrounding Eminem and his performance with John might fail to live up to expectations.

"They better do something," Estefan said. "Maybe Elton will plant a big one on Eminem and then we'll be in real trouble."

CBS might enjoy the ratings spike, though. The network is carrying the three-hour show, hosted by Jon Stewart of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show."

Lest it be forgotten, a total of 100 categories -- a new high for The Recording Academy -- will be honored Wednesday, though most of those are handed out before the televised event.

Also up for album of the year against Eminem: Beck for "Midnite Vultures," Radiohead for "Kid A," Paul Simon for "You're the One," and Steely Dan for "Two Against Nature."

Dr. Dre stands to win the most Grammys. He's nominated for five, including producer of the year.

Vying for record of the year are Destiny's Child for "Say My Name," Macy Gray for "I Try," Madonna for "Music," 'N Sync for "Bye Bye Bye," and U2, for "Beautiful Day."

Best new artist nominees are Shelby Lynne, Brad Paisley, Papa Roach, Jill Scott and Sisqo.

Along with the Eminem-Elton John duet of Eminem's "Stan," several other performers are scheduled, including pop queen Madonna (up for three Grammys), R&B sensation Destiny's Child (up for four Grammys as a group), and country star Faith Hill (up for four Grammys).

The Recording Academy likes to bill this night as the biggest in the music business. But some observers believe the Academy is still removed from what's hot and what's not in the music industry, despite efforts throughout the 1990s to compete with MTV and its annual awards ceremony.

One Grammy barometer this year: Eminem, of course. If the Academy picks him to win album of the year, just like MTV picked him to win video of the year in September, Grammy critics could have one less round of ammo to fire.

"The bottom line is that this is the ultimate test of Grammy hipness," said Tom O'Neil, author of the book "The Grammys."

For the record, O'Neil doesn't think Eminem will walk with the night's biggest honor.

"I think on the day the nominations were announced, there was a consensus among Grammy experts that he was a shoo-in to win," said O'Neil, "and since then the backlash has made it impossible."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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