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Women dominate top Grammy categories



LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- At Wednesday night's 44th annual Grammys, females dominate top categories including best new artist, song of the year and the R&B field.

Leading the pack are newcomers Nelly Furtado, Alicia Keys and India.Arie with 17 nods among them.

"I say it's a girls' world," said Furtado.

Vibe editor-in-chief Emil Wilbekin seems to agree. "There were a lot more women coming out on the scene in 2001 and the music that they were making was much more soulful, much more heartfelt and extremely popular," he said.

"It's not kind of this cookie cutter kind of sex bomb image we're used to females having to wear in the music industry," Wilbekin said. "These women are very powerful and strong."

Eve, Blu Cantrell and Mary J. Blige are other strong-styled female performers nominated for an award at the show, which airs Wednesday night on CBS at 8 EST from Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Keys and Arie face-off

VIDEO
CNN's Jodi Ross profiles some of the women nominated for Grammy Awards (February 27)

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CNN's Michael Okwu reports veteran rockers U2, music legend Bob Dylan and newcomer India.Arie head up the list of Grammy nominees (February 27)

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R&B sensation Alicia Keys is expected to leave the show clutching at least a few figurines. She's nominated for six Grammys, including record of the year, best new artist, and song of the year for her chart-topper "Fallin'."

Keys is up against fellow R&B newcomer India.Arie, who received seven nominations, including record of the year, song of the year, best new artist and album of the year for "Acoustic Soul."

"I think Alicia Keys will win probably three or four awards or so," Spin magazine editor-in-chief Alan Light told CNN.

Competing with India.Arie and U2 for album of the year are Bob Dylan's "Love and Theft," "Stankonia" by OutKast and the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack --which some observers suggest could be the sleeper.

"The easy pick is to say U2 is going to win, but I would say keep your eye on the 'O Brother' soundtrack, because I think they've got a shot at that award," Light said.

In the record of the year category, "Fallin' " and India.Arie's "Video" are up against "Ms. Jackson" by OutKast, "Drops of Jupiter" by Train and U2's "Walk On."

Will U2 rule again?

U2 won song of the year, record of the year and best rock performance by duo or group last year for their hit single "Beautiful Day." But the album it came from, "All That You Can't Leave Behind," wasn't eligible, so the band is back for more. This time around, U2's up for eight awards, including album of the year.

U2
U2 is nominated for eight Grammy awards.  

"I think that U2 will be probably looking at three or four Grammys this year, and that's after winning three last year," Light said. "Not a bad performance."

Still, Light suggests the awards will be spread around a bit more at this year's ceremony.

"I don't think that anybody's going to win a whole armload full of awards this year," he said. "I don't think there's going to be, you know, Santana up at the podium holding both arms full of trophies."

Totally live

The show will feature plenty of Grammy-nominated performances.

Billy Joel's scheduled duet with Tony Bennett on "New York State of Mind" is expected to be a sentimental favorite. Joining Christina Aguilera. Pink, Lil' Kim, Missy Elliott and Mya for a rendition of "Lady Marmalade" will be Patti LaBelle, who first recorded the song in 1976.

Other performers include Alan Jackson, Keys, Dylan, the Dave Matthews Band, violinist Joshua Bell, OutKast, Train and U2.

Jon Stewart of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" will host the show. Presenters will include Britney Spears, Don Henley, Trisha Yearwood, Bonnie Raitt, the Dixie Chicks, Gloria Estefan, Gwen Stefani and Janet Jackson.



 
 
 
 


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