Mariah Carey	Black Eyed Peas

Among the artists earning two AMA nominations were hip-hop/funk group the Black Eyed Peas, rapper Eminem and country superstars Toby Keith and Tim McGraw.

Toby Keith	Tim McGraw	John Legend

The Peas, up for Favorite Band in the rap/hip-hop genre, will compete against BMI rockers 3 Doors Down for Favorite Pop/Rock Band. Eminem's double mentions included Favorite Artist and Favorite Album for Encore, and Keith and McGraw will vie for country's Favorite Male Artist and Album trophies.

3 Doors Down	Shakira

Other BMI nominees included neo-soul artist John Legend, Latin diva Shakira, crunk rappers Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz and Christian music group Casting Crowns.

Lil Jon	Casting Crowns

Nominations for the American Music Awards are based on sales figures and radio play, and winners are selected by a survey of about 20,000 listeners. The 2005 American Music Awards will take place on November 22 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angles; the show will be televised live by ABC.

BMI's 2005 AMA Nominees:

POP/ROCK
Favorite Female Artist
Mariah Carey

Favorite Band, Duo or Group
The Black Eyed Peas
3 Doors Down

Favorite Album
The Emancipation of Mimi
Mariah Carey

SOUL/R&B
Favorite Male Artist
R. Kelly
John Legend

Favorite Female Artist
Mariah Carey

Favorite Band, Duo or Group
112
Pretty Ricky

Favorite Album
The Emancipation of Mimi
Mariah Carey

COUNTRY
Favorite Male Artist
Toby Keith
Tim McGraw

Favorite Female Artist
Martina McBride
LeAnn Rimes

Favorite Band, Duo or Group
Big & Rich
Brooks & Dunn
Rascal Flatts

Favorite Album
Honkytonk University
Toby Keith
Live Like You Were Dying
Tim McGraw

RAP/HIP-HOP
Favorite Male Artist
Eminem

Favorite Female Artist
Lil' Kim
Trina

Favorite Band, Duo or Group
The Black Eyed Peas
Lil Jon & the Eastside Boyz
Ying Yang Twins

Favorite Album
Encore
Eminem
Urban Legend
T.I.

ADULT CONTEMPORARY
Favorite Artist
Maroon 5

LATIN MUSIC
Favorite Artist
Luis Miguel
Shakira

ALTERNATIVE MUSIC
Favorite Artist
System of a Down

CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL
Favorite Artist
Casting Crowns
Jars of Clay

BREAKTHROUGH
Favorite New Artist (all genres)
Sugarland

Katie was born in 1984 in the former U.S.S.R. and lived in Moscow for a while, but she spent most of her childhood in the seaside town of Batumi in what is now Georgia. When she was nine, the family moved to Belfast, and, five years later, they relocated to South East London. Katie was 15 when she won first prize in a TV talent competition, singing Mariah Carey’s “Without You.” She also gained valuable experience by performing live on ITV. After writing and producing music on her computer, Katie “got to the music industry because I went to the Brit School, the performing arts school. Mike Batt came one day about a year ago and heard me sing one of the songs.”

Influenced by Queen, Bob Dylan, Eva Cassidy, Indian music and Irish folk tunes, Katie began writing songs two years ago. Her album, which has “a jazzy, bluesy feel,” contains two of her own songs; she also performs five tracks written by Batt and some old blues/jazz standards, while the main accompaniment is acoustic guitar and piano. According to Batt, “Artists like Katie don’t come along very often.” Her fresh voice and natural talent for performing make her a “true original.”

For Katie, who wanted to be a politician or a historian when she was 13, politics are an essential point. “I never wanted to be famous, but I do want people to hear my music,” she said. And her next album will be “more political.”

OK Go tracks like "What To Do," "Shortly Before the End" and "1000 Miles Per Hour" possess the bittersweet taste of real life. The band's lyrical élan is aptly demonstrated on the band's debut single, "Get Over It." Over a stomping rhythm reminiscent of Queen's 1979 classic "We Will Rock You," singer/songwriter Damian Kulash takes jaded pop culture to task. To wit: "Oh, what a drag, what a chore/ Oh your wounds are full of salt/ Everything's a stress and what's more/ Well it's all somebody's fault."

Apparently, OK Go's literate approach has struck a chord. The band began drawing attention last August after being included on Electronic Arts' "Madden NFL 2003" PlayStation2 game - a pioneering marketing move that has given OK Go valuable exposure among the legions of video game consumers. MTV.com featured the band in the "First Listen" section of its site. Then, weeks before the band's album was even released, Conan O'Brien featured the group on his popular late night talk show - a tremendous vote of confidence for an unknown group.

OK Go's story is every bit as charmed as their music. Kulash and bassist Tim Norwind met at summer camp when they were 11 and promptly formed a band called The Greased Ferrets that featured folding chairs played as drums. They met keyboardist/guitarist Andy Duncan in high school and drummer Dan Konopka in college, but somehow didn't form into OK Go until 1999, even though they all believed that someday they'd play in a band together.

With the release of their Capitol Records debut album, OK Go looms as one of contemporary rock's brightest hopes.]]> 2002-10-15T18:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/musicworld/entry/233536 Artists, Bowie, David, John, Elton, Lennox, Annie, Queen, Musical Styles, Pop, Rock, Musicworld, Feature Queen's recent induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (March 19, 2001) is more than a tad ironic.

When the British band was recording its best and most popular records during the 1970s and early 1980s, many critics delighted in heaping scorn on the quartet's extravagant music and stage shows.

But Queen's music has clearly gained critical stature with the passage of time. Its very early songs were a key bridge between glam rock and heavy metal. In the mid-to-late '70s, the group's work reached new levels of creativity and accessibility thanks to the development of its four members as songwriters. Guitarist-vocalist Brian May and drummer-vocalist Roger Taylor wrote catchy rockers (e.g., "Tie Your Mother Down" and "I'm In Love With My Car," respectively), bassist John Deacon proved to be an adept writer of pop songs ("You and I" and "You're My Best Friend") and flamboyant vocalist-pianist-frontman Freddie Mercury was particularly skilled at penning ornate, sometimes campy tunes. His semi-operatic "Bohemian Rhapsody" stands as Queen's signature song. The track also showcased the group's layered vocal harmonies, which was one of Queen's most distinctive trademarks.

The foursome may have had trouble wooing critics, but they didn't have any problems corralling fans. Queen scored over a dozen Top 40 hits in the U.S.

Queen's popularity diminished in the U.S. as the '80s progressed, but it remained a potent force in many other countries. During this period, the group basically eschewed the amphitheater circuit in America in favor of performing in much larger arenas and football stadiums in places like Europe and South America.

In 1991, Queen's Innuendo album entered the U.K. charts at number one. But by then, rumors were rampant that Mercury was ill with AIDS. Later that same year, he released a statement confirming these stories. Two days later, Mercury was dead.

On April 20, 1992, the surviving members of Queen and other artists like Elton John, Annie Lennox, David Bowie and Def Leppard performed a memorial concert at Wembley Stadium in England. The show was broadcast worldwide to an astonishing audience of more than one billion.

Taylor, May and Deacon spent parts of the next three years completing Queen's final studio album, Made In Heaven. Mercury's vocal tracks for the album were recorded prior to his death.

May and Taylor continue to release solo recordings. May's 1992 Back to the Light album even went gold in the U.K. But it is the music of Queen, and not the band's solo albums, which will endure. Various compilation and tribute albums, documentaries and a boxed set have helped keep the band's memory and work alive since Mercury's death.