Mariah carey 98 degree and joe

Entertainment Editors

LOS ANGELES--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Jan. 4, 2001

Grammy nominations were announced today with the Zomba Group of Labels once again pulling in top categories such as Record of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album and Best R&B Album.

Zomba Group of Labels is the world's largest independent music company and parent of Jive, Verity, Jive Electro, Provident Group of Labels, and Silvertone record labels. Zomba also has a joint venture deal with Volcano Records.

NSYNC received 3 Grammy nominations for their record breaking, diamond-certified release, No Strings Attached, including Record of The Year and Best Pop Performance By A Duo or Group With Vocal for "Bye Bye Bye." The group also received a nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album for No Strings Attached. NSYNC are currently in the studio preparing their second album scheduled for release in May 2001.

R&B crooner Joe continues the success of his double-platinum Jive release My Name Is Joe with 4 nominations including Best R&B Album, Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals ("Thank God I Found You"- Mariah Carey featuring Joe and 98(Degree)), and a nod for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal ("Coming Back Home"- Bebe Winans featuring Brian McKnight and Joe).

Teen sensation Britney Spears is nominated for both Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for her 9X certified-platinum Jive release Oops!...I Did It Again. Britney is hosting and performing at the American Music Awards on Monday, January 8 and will co-headline Rock In Rio on January 18.

The Backstreet Boys continue the success of the 12X-certified Millenium with a Grammy nod for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal for the track "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely." Backstreet Boys are embarking on their North American tour beginning in Ft. Lauderdale, FL at the NCR Center on January 22 in support of their 8X certified-platinum Jive release, Black & Blue.

Grammy award winning artist R. Kelly is nominated for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "I Wish" from his double-platinum, Jive release TP2.com.

New MTV favorite Mystikal picked up a nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance for the track "Shake Ya Ass" from the platinum selling Let's Get Ready.... The video for his current single "Danger (Been So Long)" featuring Nivea is currently in rotation on BET, The Box, and MTV.

Houston based Rap duo UGK are nominated for their appearance on "Big Pimpin" (Jay-Z featuring UGK) in the category of Best Rap Performance By A Duo or Group. UGK are currently putting the finishing touches on their highly anticipated album, Dirty Money due in April 2001.

The Provident Group of Labels, a division of the Zomba Group of Companies, received 3 nominations for the following artists: Third Day are honored for Best Rock Gospel Album for Offerings, Jars of Clay are nominated for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album for their gold-certified release If I Left The Zoo and Michael W. Smith for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album for his gold-certified release This Is Your Time.

Verity records the world's largest Gospel label received 2 nominations: Fred Hammond & Radical for Christ for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album for their Purpose of Design, and Hezekiah Walker & The Love Fellowship Crusade Choir for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album for Family Affair.

For more information on the Zomba Group of Labels please contact Sonia Muckle @ 212/824-1370 or Kim Estlund @ 310/247-4343. For Verity records please contact JoJo Pada @ 212/824-1233. For The Provident Group of Labels please contact Jackie Marushka @ 615/261-6439.