February 26, 2000

Christina Wins 'Best New Artist' Grammy

Christina

LOS ANGELES (AP) - In a mild upset, Christina Aguilera beat out her fellow teen queen and former Mousketeer, Britney Spears, for the Grammy as Best New Artist. Even she was surprised.

"Oh my God, you guys,'' she said. "I seriously do not have a speech prepared whatsoever. I'm shaking right now."

Carlos Santana, who first gained fame a generation ago with a searing guitar performance at Woodstock, won seven Grammys Wednesday for his comeback album "Supernatural."

Each of the 52-year-old guitarist's victories came for a track from "Supernatural,'' a multi-platinum album that included "Smooth," his first No. 1 single.

Santana tied Michael Jackson's 1983 record of most Grammys on a single night, eight.

"Smooth" was named record and song of the year, which went to the writers, Rob Thomas - who sings it - and Itaal Shur.

"I want to thank Santana for taking this song to the moon," Shur said.

Another nominee whose career began in the 1960s, Cher, won her first Grammy for dance recording. She enjoyed her biggest commercial success last year with the hit single "Believe."

- Beth Harris for Associated Press

February 14, 2000

Aguilera Brings Out the Vote

If it were up to Christina Aguilera fans, the teen sensation would rule the Grammy's Best New Artist category. Unlike the other voting categories in the Billboard ONline Grammy Poll, which each drew an average of some 3,000 respondents, more than 20,000 music fans came out to rock the vote in the Best New Artist category, with more than 70% falling in the Aguilera camp. Yahoo alone lists more than 200 Aguilera fan clubs in its Web search site.

Christina Aguilera - 72.2%
Macy Gray - 7.4%
Kid Rock - 7.1%
Susan Tedeschi - 7%
Britney Spears - 6.3%

Total number of respondents: 21, 146

- Billboard Magazine

January 5, 2000

Christina receives two Grammy nominations

The year 2000 has started off with a bang for Christina. The nominations for the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards were announced January 4, 2000 and she has received a nod in the Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance categories.

The announcements were made at 8:15 am pst at a press conference held at the Beverly Hills Hilton, with a host of artists helping out. On hand were Christina, Sarah McLachlan, Mary J. Blige, and Macy Gray, as well as Dallas Austin, Steven Curtis Chapman, Martina McBride, Carole Bayer Sager, Tom Scott, Thalia, and Diane Warren.

- Billboard Magazine