Congratulations everyone! "Don't Forget About Us" was #1 again on today's TRL video countdown! 3 more days until retirement! Let's continue to vote each countdown day and send Mariah off at the top!

Call 1-800-DIAL-MTV (1-800-342-5688) during the following hours:
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or vote online at MTV.com.

Insider Tip: Phone calls count the most so make sure you call a lot!

Tune in to MTV's TRL for the countdown results Monday-Friday at 3:30pm ET/PT.

All Grammys are not created equal. While 1,100 nominees are vying for 108 trophies, one contest trumps the rest for prestige, pizzazz and PR power.

Album of the year.

Music's most coveted prize, an anointing of artistic merit that can also reignite sales, brings five diverse candidates into a tight race decided by a notoriously illogical voting body.

The results will be revealed during the Grammy Awards, airing Feb. 8 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. The five albums in play are U2's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, Kanye West's Late Registration, Mariah Carey's The Emancipation of Mimi, Paul McCartney's Chaos and Creation in the Backyard and Gwen Stefani's Love Angel Music Baby.

They're listed in the order that Paul Grein, music writer and veteran Grammy prognosticator, believes the voters will rank them. The criteria? Popularity, artistry, sales, lovability, history and mysterious ephemera.

"I think U2 will win," says Grein, countering a consensus leaning West. "Three albums have a shot. Kanye is second, Mariah is third. I've got to believe U2 will take it. They're so respected, and they stand for the traditional pop-rock craft that has always done well in the Grammys going back 35 years."

"The Emancipation of Mimi" - Mariah Carey
Sales and Airplay: Mimi, the top-selling album of 2005, has sold 5.1 million copies since its release April 12. We Belong Together was the top national airplay song of 2005; Shake It Off was No. 6 and Don't Forget About Us was No. 38.

Critical Standing: Considered by most critics as more of a marketing success than an artistic triumph. Metacritic: 61. Rolling Stone: 2 1/2 stars. EW: B. USA TODAY: 3 1/2 stars. "The singer hasn't forsaken her passion for hip-hop. But it's the ballads and midtempo numbers that truly reflect the renewed confidence of a songbird who has taken her shots and kept on flying." - Elysa Gardner

Touring Boost: Carey managed to keep a high profile in 2005 without hitting the road.

Grammy Clout: Carey's up for seven other Grammys, including best record and song. She won best new artist and pop female vocal in 1991.

Grammy Tilt: "Mariah is strong, because she had the year's No. 1 album and nobody thought she could come back anywhere near this level," Grein says. "This is an unforgiving business, and once your name's a punchline, it's almost impossible to come back. But (modern) R&B isn't a favorite kind of music for a lot of Grammy voters. Traditional R&B is more respected. So a win would be a surprise."

Read the comments for the other nominated albums here.

Leading nominee Mariah Carey was featured in a Grammy preview on the "Joan & Melissa's Guide To The Grammys" that aired yesterday on the TV Guide Channel. Click on the links below to view screen captures and download a video file of the Mariah segment.


[ Download: Mariah on TV Guide's "Road To The Grammys" ]
Transcript
Queen of the charts Mariah Carey and R&B superstars John Legend and Kanye West share top billing. Each has a whopping 8 nominations.
Mariah: "I appreciate everything. I think life is a journey and I've been through it all, not at all yet, but I've been you know from a very young age so it's been like interesting, it's been an interesting ride but I'm very grateful for right now."

Now someone who's been working her tuckus off is Mariah Carey. Her career had been in a standstill in recent years and people wondered if the music diva can climb back to the top of the charts again after a much publicized emotional breakdown. Mariah's latest album has sold more than 4 million copies and with eight Grammy noms, it looks like Mimi is finally emancipated.

Mariah Carey's five octave voice made her the high note of the 90s music scene. But early in 2000, her sizzling love scenes and signature sound were not enough to save her from a cinematic flop and getting the boot from her record company.

After walking away from the music biz for a few years, Mariah re-emerged with the release of "The Emancipation of Mimi" - the record that would solidify her spot in music history.
Mariah: It's always good to have music that you can sort of live by and carries you through and this record has been phenomenal.

The album opened at #1. It was 2005's best-seller with just under 5 million copies sold. "The Emancipation of Mimi" portrays Mariah's journey filled with struggles and successes.
Mariah: "It's about ups and downs. It's about living through, you know, whatever happens and just having the strength to overcome and to always be thankful and stay humble."

The curvaceous crooner wrote most of her songs on her new album, using her words as an emotional outlet.
Mariah: "I love writing. It's almost like, I won't say it's more important to me than singing, but it's equal for me. So it's something that just brings me a lot of joy, it's an incredible gift. I'm really blessed and thankful that I'm able to release all that energy into songs."

Songs produced by the music master, Jermaine Dupri.
Mariah: "Jermaine Dupri is my favorite and we have done a lot of collaborations. "We Belong Together" is our most successful song ever, my own successul song ever so it's amazing to have that on this album."

And while some have labeled her the comeback kid, Mariah says she never left. The sultry singer credits her devoted fans for her continued success.
Mariah: "My fans are the world's greatest. I have the best fans in the world."

--"Don't Forget About Us" is back at #1 on TRL's video countdown! Good job everyone! With only 4 countdowns to go until its retirement, let's continue to vote and send Mariah out at the top!

--Mariah was mentioned in Big Momma 2! Towards the end of the movie, Big Momma takes the family to a bingo hall so she could talk to the father. During their conversation, Big Momma asked him where he was from. He said, "Long Island" to which Big Momma blurted out, "Oh, that's where Mariah was born."

--Vote for Mariah in Yahoo! Music's poll "Dig It or Dis It: who should win the coveted Grammy for Record of the Year?" Current results show Mariah tied for 1st place with Kanye West. Cast your ballot now!

--In the Canadian movie magazine available in theatres called 'Famous,' on the final page, '10 Stars Explain Their Scars,' Mariah is quoted as saying: "I have a scar on my back that I hate. I cover it with a butterfly or a heart, whatever, a temporary tattoo. When I was 18, I had a mole on my back and someone said I should get it removed, so I did. But it was not done correctly and I have this stupid scar."

--Dave Grohl's Foo Fighters are playing bigger shows than ever and are up for five Grammys for their two-disc opus, "In Your Honor." The album could make Grammy night an eventful evening for the band, but Grohl says whether they walk out with a trophy or not, 'it's mainly for the fam.' "You get the fam all dressed up, put 'em in the same room as Mariah Carey and all of a sudden your career is validated." From MSNBC.

--Coshocton Tribune describes the new Al Gore "a cross between Theodore Roosevelt, the environmentalist president, and Mariah Carey, the sultry songstress whose music career recently recovered from a big tumble."

Mariah was the subject of last night's episode of MTV's new reality show, "My Own." David, an avid Mariah fan, wants his own Mariah Carey! With the help of his two friends, he inspects 6 wannabes and searches for the one who looks, sounds, and acts like Mariah.

Click on the links below to download a video file (mpg, 210MB) of My Own's episode about Mariah.

Part One Part Two Part Three

Jermaine Dupri, in his interview with MTV News, said he's considering a collaboration between Mariah and Janet, which would mirror Whitney Houston and Mariah's 1998 hit "When You Believe."

"That's been on my mind for a couple weeks now," Dupri admitted. "The hardest part is figuring out a song that fits both of them, because you have two different styles of artists, and the thing when you're dealing with divas is you don't want to overshadow either one, so if you were to do a song for them, it would have to work where both of them would feel they were on the same pedestal, or else someone's gonna have a problem."

Setting The Record Straight - Thursday, February 2 at 9:00pm EST on BET

Don’t miss this Grammy Awards special featuring intimate one-on-one interviews with Grammy top contenders Mariah Carey, Kanye West, and John Legend. Each artist is nominated for a record 8 Grammys! BET's' Big Tigger, along with guest co-host Ananda Lewis, sit with the stars to chronicle their path to this potentially record breaking night.

Sessions that produced 'We Belong Together' — Mariah's 16th #1 single — almost didn't happen.

Mariah needed a miracle.

In November 2004 she was still mired in a deep slump that was on the verge of killing her career ("Glitter," anyone?). But she had a full album's worth of hot new material in the can that she was sure would rocket her

However, Mariah's label boss, L.A. Reid, thought she needed a little insurance, and suggested she try just one more session to sprinkle some final fairy dust on her emancipation proclamation, The Emancipation of Mimi. "L.A. was like, 'You and Jermaine Dupri make magic together, why aren't you in the studio with him?' " Carey recalled. "I said, 'I love Jermaine, is he free? I know he's doing a million things, Usher and this and that.' But Jermaine said, 'Come on down.' "

Dupri, of course, is one of the biggest hitmakers of the past 20 years, having crafted hits for Usher, TLC, Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, Nelly, Aaliyah, Kris Kross and many others in addition to Mariah. When she arrived at Dupri's studio in Atlanta the next day, the two of them worked nonstop, popping off two songs in two days: "Get Your Number" and "Shake It Off."

Up to that point, Carey and Reid had planned to make "Say Somethin'," a collaboration with Snoop Dogg and Pharrell Williams, her new album's first single. But once Reid heard the Dupri-helmed songs, Carey recalled, "He was like, 'Oh no! Now we've got to change the single, make these singles one and two.' "

Carey agreed. "Nobody could tell me that 'Shake It Off' wasn't going to be my first single. It was my favorite song, just from the demo."

Dupri had quickly sized up what he felt the album needed. "The records that I made are very melodic records, regardless of their hip-hop influence," Dupri said. "I think that's what she was missing."

And since he and Mariah had come up with those two songs in two days, why stop? "Then it was like, 'You want to go back down to Atlanta again?' " she said. So the pair teamed up again, coming up with "It's Like That" and "We Belong Together" — the first two songs in the album's final sequence — in two days. "We said, OK, we love 'Shake It Off,' " Carey recalled. "We don't know how we're going to top that, but let's just try.' It turned out that 'It's Like That' was the right fire-starter, and 'We Belong Together' was the bigger record." "We Belong Together" — which is nominated for Grammys in both the Record of the Year and Song of the Year categories — became Carey's sweet 16: her 16th #1 hit, the most ever by a female artist. (Mariah has since broken her own record with "Don't Forget About Us.")

Dupri may deserve as much credit for what he got Mariah not to do. For someone so associated with multi-octave vocal gymnastics (look up "melisma" in the dictionary and you'll see a picture of Mariah), Carey is a model of restraint on "We Belong Together": She doesn't even raise her voice until the song is near its end. She sings the chorus as if she actually were resigned to not having what she wants, and that understated approach makes the song far more powerful than it would have been if she'd belted it.

"People have to learn the art of subtlety," she said. "We realized that once we did it, it was an inspiration in terms of how I was singing it. It was obvious that if it was touching us, it was going reach other people too."

Carey also reversed her usual technique of singing as many notes per syllable as she possibly can, and her comparatively spare, hip-hop-inspired delivery is what pushes the song forward (the instrumental backing is primarily a beat and just a few simple piano chords).

"We just went back and forth with concepts for the beat and melodic ideas, which I didn't expect from Jermaine, because usually I'm the one that dictates the entire melody," Carey said. "But he had some really great ideas."

The rest of the song is classic heartbreak. For the second verse, Mariah said she and Jermaine "had a pow-wow," trying to figure out what it makes certain songs so special, how they "just hit you, and you're like, 'Oh, man!' You know?"

They came up with Bobby Womack's "If You Think You're Lonely Now" and Babyface's "Two Occasions," which Carey quotes in "We Belong Together" as she flips across a radio dial: "I gotta change the station/ So I turn the dial, tryin' to catch a break/ And then I hear Babyface/ I only think of you and it's breaking my heart/ I'm trying to keep it together but I'm falling apart."

Carey reverses the melancholy at the end with vocal lifts that imply she's bound to get her heart's desire anyway, through sheer determination.

Kind of like the way she's revived her career.

"It's like, damn, two years ago she was the craziest person in the funny farm, and that [image] don't even exist no more," Dupri said. "And she never got nominated this many times when she was the Mariah of old. It felt like the rebirth of the person you know as Mariah Carey." "I am so grateful I went to Atlanta," Carey said. "And I have to say, we wrote some of my favorite songs on the album. I'm so proud of Jermaine — he's so focused, and he knew what had to be done.

"You can never write off talent," she added. Especially not her own.

2005 was the year of Mariah Carey. On December 31, 2004, if anyone had written the previous statement, they would have been ridiculed. Mariah had been placed in the "career over" section of the music industry alongside the likes of Whitney, Bobby and Lauryn Hill. How she got there and how she overcame that stigma is the real story.

The music world is one of young, hot and upcoming artists. It's hard to get on top and it's even harder to stay there. Every year there is a new artist that rises out of the woodwork. Back in 1990, that artist was Mariah Carey.

Through her work as a background vocalist, Mariah's music came in contact with Sony head Tommy Motolla (remember him?), who promptly signed her to Columbia Records. Her very first single, "Vision of Love," shot to the top of the charts and multiple number one songs would follow. Mariah owned the 1990s.

During this time, Motolla married his protege. Is it even ethical for a record head to have a romantic relationship with one of his artists? (Berry Gordy and Diana Ross' relationship ultimately broke up the biggest female group ever, The Supremes). The eventual end of Mariah's marriage to Motolla (which was displayed in her "We Belong Together video) was the beginning of a strange and peculiar downward spiral for Mariah.

Once Mariah left Motolla and Sony for Virgin Records for a record $80 million contract, the attack was on. It's been reported that Motolla took songs intended for Carey's first release on Virgin and gave them to Jennifer "I'm Real" Lopez. Whether it's true or not is the subject of much debate; however, record companies have been known to do whatever it takes to artists they know are leaving their label.

Leading up to the release of her first movie, Mariah began to act irratically. Combined business and personal matters began to take their toll and Mariah took a "break" in the middle of the massive promotion for the debut of her movie and new Virgin CD. With no Mariah to promote them, both projects failed and the doubters began to write Mariah as a lost cause.

Virgin even got in on the act, quickly buying her contract out by giving Mariah $28 million just to leave their label. Although she made out in the deal, it's considered a public relations disaster to be paid to leave your record company to "cut their losses." Critics had a field day with the downfall of Mariah Carey. Was it because she could no longer sing or that she was close to breaking records of the highly acclaimed Elvis and the Beatles?

Now a free agent, Mariah was signed to Def Jam by new head LA Reid (the mastermind behind the chart success of Usher and OutKast). Even though her first release on Def Jam, "Charmbracelet" eventually went platinum, it was widely considered that Mariah's days as a top selling artist were long gone.

To prepare for her second release on Def Jam, Mariah took her time and went to the islands to regroup. After clearing her head of all the pressures of life, she hooked up with her old producer/friend Jermaine Dupri and created "The Emancipation of Mimi." (Mimi is the name Mariah is called by her close friends).

A ultra smash, "Mimi" walked down 50 Cent's "The Massacre" to become the number one selling cd of 2005 by selling over 5 million copies and counting. (At press time, "Mimi" is still firmly lodged in the top ten.) Even more impressively, she scored 2 more number one songs from the CD, giving her a total of 17. Now she is tied with Elvis Presley for the most number one songs of all time behind only the Beatles with 20. Does anyone think Virgin jumped the gun?

In other words, Mariah Carey is walking ground no other woman has ever achieved. She's had more number ones than Whitney, Janet Jackson and Madonna. She has earned the official title of "The Queen of Pop." More importantly, she's approaching the holy grail of the Beatles. Does anyone doubt she won't get there?

Below are scans from the February 6, 2006 issues of Celebrity Living, Star, OK! and Us Weekly magazines, and from today's edition of the New York Daily News.



Also, in the February 2006 issue of the German In Style magazine, Mariah is featured on Beauty Talk where she shares her beauty secrets, reveals her make-up tricks, talks about dieting and macaroni with cheese, among other things! When asked what kind of make up she wears when dating rumored boyfriend Mark Sudack, she replied with a smile, "Much gloss and glitter."

Below are the scans from the German In Style magazine PLUS a new photo of Mariah in her blue winter overalls that was featured in the January 20th issue of the German Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin's "100 Questions For Mariah Carey" (transcript here)!

8 Nominations

Record Of The Year: "We Belong Together"

Album Of The Year: "The Emancipation Of Mimi"

Song Of The Year: "We Belong Together"

Best Pop Female Vocal Performance: "It's Like That"

Best Female R&B Vocal Performance: "We Belong Together"

Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance: "Mine Again"

Best R&B Song: "We Belong Together"

Best Contemporary R&B Album: "The Emancipation Of Mimi"

Billboard Album Review - "The Emancipation Of Mimi" - April 16, 2005:

"The Emancipation of Mimi" is Mariah Carey's most satisfying album since her 1997 collection, "Butterfly." The latter disc spawned multiple hits and has sold 3.7 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. "Mimi" has already notched a hit with "It's Like That," and a second single -- the midtempo ballad "We Belong Together" -- is ascending the charts. Carey's emancipation is drenched in hip-hop and old-school R&B ballads, and it smartly focuses on her strengths. While her voice has lost some of its power through the years, "Mimi" deftly showcases her still-considerable pipes with strong lyrics and slick production. In addition to the aforementioned singles, highlights include the Snoop Dogg-spiced thump of "Say Somethin'," the gorgeous ballads "Mine Again" and "Circles," the bouncy silliness of "Get Your Number" and gospel closer "Fly Like a Bird."

One of music's most dominant forces, Mariah Carey continues to sell (and break) records. In December 2005, the singer tied Elvis Presley for second place among artists with the most Billboard Hot 100 topping singles in the rock era when "Don't Forget About Us" became her 17th No. 1.

In addition to selling 46 million albums in the United States throughout her career, according to Nielsen SoundScan, Carey scored a Hot 100 No. 1 in every year in the '90s and has won a bevy of awards.

The artist started out her dream in a gutsy way, relocating from Long Island to Manhattan a mere day after graduating from high school. Fortunately, Carey signed with Columbia shortly thereafter went from an overnight success with her self-titled 1990 debut to a consistent hitmaker for the label.

But more than a decade into her career, Carey suffered a couple of missteps, including a very public breakdown and the critically maligned film "Glitter" in 2001 and its Virgin soundtrack. A break from Virgin led her to Island Def Jam, and her second set for the label, 2005's "The Emancipation of Mimi," became a comeback story of considerable note.

Considered as a testament to her fortitude and undeniable talent, the Island Def Jam set has sold 3.6 (sic) million copies, debuted at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 and led to an impressive eight Grammy nominations.

Martijn Krabbé from the Dutch show "Idols!" met Mariah in England on December 4, 2005 (the day of the 'Mimi' CD signing at HMV) for an interview. The interview was aired as part of the "Idols!" show on December 31, 2005. Click on the links below to view screen captures and download the video file of the interview.


[ Download: Mariah Interviewed on "Idols!" ]
Interview Transcript:
Idols: Welcome to "Idols," Mariah.
Mariah: Thank you.

Idols: Isn't it sometimes a little bit scary when you come to these places and there are so many people?
Mariah: You know, I'm one of those people where I've been in massive crowds and people trying to like... I don't think they're trying to crush you but that's just what it feels like at the moment, and my thing is - you have to remain calm, literally. Like everybody else can be screaming around you but if you're just calm, you just walk through it.

Idols: When do you draw the line and where between private and public?
Mariah: If I'm out and if people come up to me and they're nice and they say, you know, 'can I have your autograph?' - of course I'm gonna give them my autograph. If you can make somebody happy, you should do it. You know, but if people come up to you and they're rude and nasty, you know, then you let the security ask them politely to leave.

Idols: Would you give some advice to our contestants?
Mariah: Well, I love writing songs because it's an outlet for me, so definitely sit down and try to hone their craft and learn a little bit more about song structure and you know, just be in the studio as much as you can. Any opportunity someone gives you to hang out at the studio - just be there.

Idols: What's the most fun experience of being a public figure?
Mariah: Well, overall it would be meeting fans, like, I really have some great fans, like, they sort of give me this unconditional love and that's something that I haven't really had very much of in my life so I would say the fans are the best part of it. My fans, they're very special.

Idols: One last thing, I have a picture here, it's a very young girl, she's only 20 years old, I'd like you to look at the picture and maybe give a few comments. [Interviewer shows Mariah a picture of them together in Holland in 1990]
Mariah: (laughs) Oh my goodness.

Idols: This is 1990, "Vision of Love."
Mariah: I know... it's my bad side.

Idols: You were in Holland, I think we do look better now.
Mariah: I'm giving you my bad side (laughs). I will say my hair wasn't in very good condition at that point, and I did my own hair in this picture because we couldn't afford 'hair and make up' back then!

Idols: If you could give this girl advice, what would it be?
Mariah: It was too late at that point to give a real advice I needed to be given, but if I could give that girl advice, it would be "stand up for yourself."

Outtake
Mariah: Hi I'm Mariah Carey and I wish all the viewers of idol a very happy Christmas and a merry new year. Or Merry Christmas and a happy new year. Cheers! Is that good? You threw me off with the "Hi, my name is Mariah Carey." I'm not used to saying that.

Mimi and You: We Break Down the Grammys and Reveal Our Picks for the Top Awards

What is the Bermuda Triangle? How was Stonehenge built? Who will win the Grammy for Record of the Year? These are the enduring mysteries of our times, and since we still haven't figured out the answers to the first two (though we're fairly sure unicorns are involved), we're ready to take a crack at who we think the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) will be awarding statuettes. And to make things interesting, we polled our columnists to let you see how their great minds work.

Album of the Year
Nominees: The Emancipation of Mimi (Mariah Carey), Chaos and Creation in the Backyard (Paul McCartney), Love.Angel.Music.Baby. (Gwen Stefani), How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb (U2), Late Registration (Kanye West)

We Say: Mariah Carey: Hands down, this is Mimi's award. Nobody sold more albums, and nobody in the category overcame as many career obstacles--Glitter, anyone?--as she did.
Ted Casablanca Says: Mariah Carey: Kanye, your year was so 2005. And while I like shakin' my très existent rump to "Gold Digger" as much as the next dawg, I'm gonna have to bet my ill-fitting spandex ski suit on Mimi. Hey, all this success, and the diva still can't find solid love. At least give the gal a damn Grammy, right?

Song of the Year
Nominees: "Bless the Broken Road" (Rascal Flatts), "Devils & Dust" (Bruce Springsteen), "Ordinary People" (John Legend), "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" (U2), "We Belong Together" (Mariah Carey)

We Say: Mariah Carey: Seriously, did you read what we said before? Nothing in this category had the commercial or emotional impact of "We Belong Together"--this is Mariah's year.
Tab Fab Says: Mariah Carey: Hey, any song about Mariah Carey's breastesses all smooshed up is a sure winner for Song of the Year, which is why we love "We Belong Together."

E! Online also predicts Mariah will lose the "Record of the Year" category to Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl."

--A segment on the E! channel called "Divas Gone Bad" was aired in France on January 25th, 2006. It features Mariah clips from several red carpet events. Click here to download the video file.

--According to DirecTV's TiVo guide, the Mariah Carey episode of "My Own" will air tomorrow, Monday - January 30th, at 6:00 PM EST on MTV.

--Mariah's episode of 'Cribs' was at number 3 on the list of top 40 Cribs on the UK music channel TMF which aired from 6pm to midnight GMT on 27/1/06.

Worldwide Releases
--Due to the success of "Get Your Number" in Belgium (the single is still in high demand in stores and has a very good airplay), the "Don't Forget About Us" single has been pushed back to February the 21st.

--Universal Music Spain has announced that the Platinum Edition of "The Emancipation of Mimi" will be finally released in Spain on February 6th, 2006. The tracklisting has not been announced yet.

Fans Corner
--Mariah Daily and Ritcher (a.k.a itslikethat) would like to wish a very happy new year to the Chinese Mariah fans at MariahCN who are celebrating the Chinese traditional new year today!

--Mason, a dedicated Mariah fan is releasing his debut CD in less than two weeks. Snippets from his album can be heard here.

--Click here to download three Mariah wallpapers (in a zip file) made by Celitano.

A scan of an ad for the 48th Annual Grammy Awards from the February 3rd issue of Entertainment Weekly. Mariah is pictured at top left among the other Grammy nominees.

Click here to download the Grammy Awards show commercial and here for the "2006 Grammy Nominees" CD commercial.

The awards ceremony will air at 8pm on CBS live from the Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA. Be sure to tune in!

Who'll score when the Recording Academy hands out music's top honors on Feb. 8? See who Entertainment Weekly thinks is likely to win - and who deserves to win below.

Album of the Year
Nominees: The Emancipation of Mimi (Mariah Carey), Chaos and Creation in the Backyard (Paul McCartney), Love.Angel.Music.Baby. (Gwen Stefani), How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb (U2), Late Registration (Kanye West)

Will Win: Mariah, Gwen and Kanye will split the R&B/rap votes, leaving U2 with their 17th Grammy.
Should Win: Kanye - the most musically and lyrically audacious of the bunch - gets our nod.

Record of the Year
Nominees: "We Belong Together" (Mariah Carey), "Feel Good Inc." (Gorillaz), Boulevard of Broken Dreams" (Green Day), "Hollaback Girl" (Gwen Stefani), "Gold Digger" (Kanye West)

Will Win: Seemingly on the radio every 15 minutes, Carey's single brought millions back to the cult of ''the voice.''
Should Win: For turning a demeaning dis into a hilarious song, West deserves it.

Song of the Year
Nominees: "Bless the Broken Road" (Rascal Flatts), "Devils & Dust" (Bruce Springsteen), "Ordinary People" (John Legend), "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" (U2), "We Belong Together" (Mariah Carey)

Will Win & Should Win: A tough one, but Legend's ballad will eke out a victory, if only for its old-school soul virtues. Though lesser tracks from Mariah, U2, or even the Boss could steal it.

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
Nominees: "It's Like That" (Mariah Carey), "Sicne U Been Gone" (Kelly Clarkson), "Good Is Good" (Sheryl Crow), "I Will Not Be Broken" (Bonnie Raitt), "Hollaback Girl" (Gwen Stefani)

Will Win & Should Win: With an undeniable Max Martin-penned hook, Clarkson's anthem is a perfect meeting of slick production and raw emotion featuring a killer vocal from the Idol vet.

Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
Nominees: "1 Thing" (Amerie), "Wishing on a Star" (Beyonce), "We Belong Together" (Mariah Carey), "Free Yourself" (Fantasia), "Unbreakable" (Alicia Keys)

Will Win: The silk-and-satin embrace of Carey's single was the spark for her incredible comeback year.

Should Win: For its mind-boggling beat alone, Amerie's Meters- sampling track shouldn't be ignored.

Rolling Stone has assembled an A-list panel of experts - rock stars, hitmaking producers, top execs -- to give you the inside line on the major races.

The panel of experts: Dave Navarro (rock guitarist), John Norris (MTV host/VJ), John Shanks (songwriter/producer), Rick Krim (VH1 EVP), Pat Wilson (Weezer drummer), Pete Wentz (Fall Out Boy bassist/songwriter), Polly Anthony (Geffen Records president), Ahmir "QuestLove" Thompson (The Roots drummer/songwriter), Jed The Fish (KROQ DJ), Rick Ocasek (producer)

Below you will find the experts' predictions of who will take the trophies in the major categories.

Album of the Year
Nominees: The Emancipation of Mimi, Mariah Carey; Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, Paul McCartney; Love, Angel, Music, Baby, Gwen Stefani; How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, U2; Late Registration, Kanye West

Will Win: The Emancipation of Mimi, Mariah Carey
Should Win: Late Registration, Kanye West

Polly Anthony: "Mariah. The album is beautifully written and incredibly produced - it feels like Grammy-Grammy-Grammy to me."

Record of the Year
Nominees: "We Belong Together," Mariah Carey; "Feel Good Inc.," Gorillaz Featuring De La Soul; "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," Green Day; "Hollaback Girl," Gwen Stefani; "Gold Digger," Kanye West

Will Win: "We Belong Together," Mariah Carey
Should Win: "Gold Digger," Kanye West

Pete Wentz: "I personally got down with Green Day a little more, but I think Mariah came up with a record that was awesome." Ahmir Thompson: "It'd be interesting to see how the Gorillaz would go up and accept that award - they're not human. But it's going to go to Mariah." Polly Anthony: "I'm going to be boring here -- Mariah. The girl is going to have the night of her life. She should get a lot of rest the few days before, because she isn't going to sleep much that night."

Best R&B Song
Nominees: "Cater 2 U," Destiny's Child; "Free Yourself," Fantasia; "Ordinary People," John Legend; "Unbreakable," Alicia Keys; "We Belong Together," Mariah Carey

Will Win: "We Belong Together," Mariah Carey
Should Win: "Ordinary People," John Legend

John Norris: "This is gonna come down to Mariah vs. John Legend. 'We Belong Together' was so inescapable for so much of the year, I'll go with that one."

Also, Kanye West and Ciara mention Mariah in their respective Grammy Preview Q&As with Rolling Stone.

Kanye: "Mariah is gonna be tough to beat this year. I think a lot of people are gonna get behind Mariah because of the comeback story. Not to discredit her at all, but I think I deserve it over her, because "Gold Digger" sounds like nothing you've heard before. "Diamonds [From Sierra Leone]" doesn't sound like something you've heard before. And I stand by that statement, and I'm gonna say that to the end. And statements like that could be the very reason why she possibly could win over me. The thing that we tried to do with this album -- we weren't trying to just make good records, we were really trying to push the envelope and change music.

Ciara: Q: Who, besides you, do you think deserves to win this year? A: "It will be big for Mariah this time around. She's such an amazing talent. It's great for her to be able to reinvent herself." Q: Who would you most like to perform with at the Grammys? A: Mariah and Missy. And I want to do something with U2. I met Bono, and he's such a cool guy.

Groovevolt.com, one of the Internet's leading music sites, announced the winners Friday for its Third Annual GV Music & Fashion Awards. Voting for the awards took place at Groovevolt.com beginning December 20.

Not surprisingly, this year’s voting was dominated by Mariah Carey, who swept the categories in which she was nominated, and took home a record six GV Music Awards:

General

Album of the Year: The Emancipation of Mimi

Song of the Year: "We Belong Together"

Pop

Best Female Album: The Emancipation of Mimi

Best Female Song Performance: "We Belong Together"

Best Unreleased Album Track: "Circles"

R&B/Soul

Best Female Song Performance: "We Belong Together"

"Mariah Carey has been honored with a number of awards already this year and her six GV Awards are a testament to her successful comeback," Groovevolt.com Editor-in-Chief Chauncy Jackson said. "Carey’s fans are extremely loyal to her and she repays them for their devotion."


While the voting for the Groovevolt Music and Fashion Awards has ended, Mariah fans still have the chance to register to win 125 full albums from the nominated artists. The sweepstakes, which began January 17 and wraps February 15, will award 125 audio CDs from the 125 artists who were nominated for GV Awards this year, as well as a video iPod and a Mariah Daily t-shirt! In addition, the grand prize winner will receive Mariah Carey's entire music & movie catalog including her latest platinum edition of "The Emancipation of Mimi," "Wisegirls" and "Glitter" DVDs! Click on the banner above or this link to join now!

--"Don't Forget About Us" drops a spot to #3 on this week's VH1 Top 20 video countdown. Let's keep on voting and put Mariah back on top! Request for Mariah by posting a message here!

--"Don't Forget About Us" is only 5 countdowns away from retirement on MTV's TRL. Let's vote like crazy each countdown day to retire it at #1! Vote online by clicking on the banner on top or this link or call 1-800-DIAL-MTV (1-800-342-5688)!

--"My Own" was not shown as scheduled on MTV Wednesday, January 25th. Instead, the station aired a repeat of an episode about Ashanti. Mariah's episode is currently not listed in future airings of the show.

--Wednesday's episode of Cribs on MTV featured Vanessa Carlton who praised Mariah's own episode especially when she got into her bathtub, saying that it was one of the greatest moments in the history of TV. Vanessa then showed the cameras her closet and inside she revealed the exact (same color, cut and beadwork) Tory Burch tunic Mariah wore in her video for "We Belong Together." She passively commented on Mariah's taste and was even inspired to make a costume change and put on the Burch creation to finish the tour of her home.

--Vote for Mariah in The Boston Globe's poll that asks, "Who do you think should win a Grammy Award for record of the year?" Mariah is currently in 2nd place with 18.9% of the total votes behind Green Day's 37.4%.

--The tenors of Il Divo are making the rounds of TV shows promoting their new album, "Ancora". They were last seen on Regis & Kelly singing Mariah's "Hero" in Spanish.

It was Ellen's 48th birthday celebration on her show today and one of the well-wishers was Mariah! In a taped video message, Mariah whistled "Happy Birthday" to Ellen and said, "Not singing today. I'm on my vocal rest."

Click here to download Mariah's video greeting to Ellen!

An official press release made by The Recording Academy states the following:

Hezekiah Walker & Love Fellowship Choir will sing to the rafters with previously announced performer – and current eight-time GRAMMY nominee - Mariah Carey.

Hezekiah Walker and The Love Fellowship Choir are gospel singers who are also nominated for this year's Grammy Awards in the Gospel catagories. It is speculated that they will join Mariah to perform "Fly Like A Bird."

The music industry's premier event will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 8, at Staples Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast in HDTV and 5.1 surround sound on the CBS Television Network at 8 p.m. (ET/PT).

Here are Mariah's Billboard chart positions for the magazine's issue date February 4, 2006.

The Emancipation of Mimi ▲5
Billboard 200: #10 (Last Week #6)
Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: #8 (Last Week #7)
Sales this week: 39,896 (-20%)
Total Sales: 5,132,693

Don't Forget About Us
Billboard Hot 100: #7 (Last Week #4)
Billboard Hot 100 Airplay: #5 (Last Week #1)
Billboard Pop 100: #11 (Last Week #8)
Billboard Pop 100 Airplay: #6 (Last Week #5)
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks: #6 (Last Week #4)
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay: #6 (Last Week #4)
Billboard Adult R&B: #16 (Last Week #18)
Billboard Mainstream Top 40: #5 (Last Week #4)
Billboard Rhythmic Top 40: #4 (Last Week #3)
Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play: #4 (Last Week #2)
Billboard Dance Radio Airplay: #2 (Last Week #2)
Billboard Hot Digital Songs: #39 (Last Week #28)
Billboard Hot Digital Tracks (Radio Edit): #36 (Last Week #25)
Billboard Hot Videoclip Tracks: #5 (Last Week #1)
Sales this week: 17,655 (-5%)
Total sales: 239,506

Shake It Off
Billboard Hot 100 Recurrent: #13 (Last Week #6)
Billboard Hot 100 Airplay Recurrent: #2 (Last Week #3)
Billboard Pop 100: #55 (Last Week #42)
Billboard Pop 100 Airplay: #39 (Last Week #34)
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks: #33 (Last Week #33)
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay: #31 (Last Week #32)

We Belong Together ▲3
Billboard Hot 100: #48 (Last Week #44)
Billboard Hot 100 Airplay: #36 (Last Week #33)
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks: #47 (Last Week #48)
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay: #45 (Last Week #47)
Billboard Hot Singles Sales: #39 (Last Week #20)
Billboard Adult Comtemporary Recurrents: #3 (Last Week #4)
Billboard Hot Ringtones: #12 (Last Week #12)

So Lonely
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles: #18 (Last Week #17)
Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-hop Singles: #3 (Last Week #3)
Rhythmic Top 40: #40 (Debut)

Ashley Parrish, web editor of Marie Claire, informed us that Mariah will grace the cover of the March 2006 issue of Marie Claire that hits newsstands on February 7th! In the accompanying interview, Mariah talks about growing up poor, her so-called "breakdown," the truth about "sleeping around" and what could be the record-breaking year of her life.

Be sure to grab a copy!

Note: A picture of the cover and excerpts from the interview will be posted soon.

Mariah Carey needs to make room in her trophy case for more awards from her comeback of the millennium, according to the results from VH1's 4th annual GRAMMY Awards poll.

Adult respondents in VH1's fourth annual poll single out the songbird's CD "The Emancipation of Mimi" as most likely to win Album of the Year and her international hit "We Belong Together" most likely to win Song of the Year. The single also tied in the poll for Record of the Year with Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams."

To top off Mariah's near-sweep in the VH1 poll, a majority of the respondents crowned her as the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance nominee they would personally like to take singing lessons from.

VH1 commissioned a telephone poll of a random national sample of 529 men and women between the ages of 18-49 who were asked who they, personally, thought would win Record, Album, Song, and Best New Artist of the Year.

"Without a doubt Mariah Carey's huge comeback was the big music story of 2005 and continues into this year. With more than five million album copies sold to date and numerous awards already won, the results of our GRAMMY poll reflect the public's love for Mariah," said Rick Krim, EVP, Talent and Music Programming, VH1. "We'll have to wait and see if the music industry will give her the credit that her fans already have."

Album of the Year
1. "The Emancipation Of Mimi" Mariah Carey - 26%
2. "Late Registration" Kanye West - 20%
3. "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb" U2 - 17%
4. "Love. Angel. Music. Baby." Gwen Stefani - 12%
5. "Chaos And Creation In The Backyard" Paul McCartney - 10%

Record of the Year
1. "We Belong Together" Mariah Carey - 26%
1. "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" Green Day - 26%
2. "Gold Digger" Kanye West - 20%
3. "Hollaback Girl" Gwen Stefani - 13%
4. "Feel Good Inc." Gorillaz Featuring De La Soul - 3%

Song of the Year
1. "We Belong Together" Mariah Carey - 33%
2. "Bless The Broken Road" Rascal Flatts - 21%
3. "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" U2 - 19%
4. "Devils & Dust" Bruce Springsteen - 9%
5. "Ordinary People" John Legend - 5%

Singing Lessons from Best Female Pop Vocal
Performance Nominees
1. Mariah Carey - 32%
2. Sheryl Crow - 23%
3. Kelly Clarkson - 16%
4. Gwen Stefani - 11%
5. Bonnie Raitt - 10%

Larah, a Mariah fan, recently e-mailed the True Worship Church which Mariah frequents while in New York. Below is an excerpt from the e-mail that was sent back to her:

"Mariah is expected to sing one of the singles from the album titled "Fly Like A Bird" at the upcoming Grammy's and the gentleman that you hear on that cut is the Rev. Dr. Clarence Keaton, Pastor and overseer of the True Worship Church. He is scheduled to be at the Grammys also."

Please note this information has not been confirmed by Mariah's management yet.

--Mariah was spotted entering "Darque Tan," a luxury tanning facility in Las Vegas at around 2 a.m. about two weeks ago. She left hours later sporting the Salon's famous "Mystic Tan."

--Mariah failed to secure the awards for International Artist of the Year and International Album of the Year at the NRJ Music Awards last January 21, 2006 in Midem, Cannes, France. Madonna and Black Eyed Peas took home the awards for International Artist and International Album, respectively.

--Lindsay Lohan's Rhapsody playlist includes Mariah's "It's Like That" as her #2 song.

--KDAY 93.5 FM has a poll asking, "Who do you think will take home the MOST Grammys?" Mariah is currently in the lead with 55% of the total votes, Kanye West with 38% and John Legend 5%. Let's vote!

Click on each of the thumbnails below to view high-quality photos of Mariah out and about in Midtown New York City January 23, 2006.