Babyface

NEW YORK -- On the charts, 1997 was mostly kid stuff, all fluff, silliness and sentimentality.But at the Grammys, 1997 turns out to have been a very grown-up year, indeed. When nominations for the 40th Annual Grammy Awards were announced in New York yesterday, the major categories -- Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist -- were dominated by adult pop acts, including Paula Cole, R. Kelly, Shawn Colvin, Bob Dylan and Babyface.Cole, in fact, was named in all four categories.

In yesterday's story on nominations for Grammy Awards, the number received by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds was incorrect. The performer and producer was nominated 12 times. That number ties Michael Jackson's record for most nominations in a single year.The Sun regrets the errors.Pub Date: 1/09/97

You can't make this stuff up. It is being reported on television stations and various Web sites that suspended NFL player Adam "Pacman" Jones has signed a contract with TNA. How will the TNA creative team pull off making Jones a babyface, and which TNA goody guy will be the unfortunate one to be associated with him? If this angle turns out to be a success, maybe TNA will follow it up by signing Michael Vick to manage a new version of the Pit Bulls tag team. Uh-oh. I probably just gave Vince Russo an idea.

Let's get this much straight from the start: "Waiting to Exhale" (Arista 18796) is not the new Whitney Houston album.That's not because it's a soundtrack album. After all, "The Bodyguard" was a soundtrack, too, and like "Waiting to Exhale" included tracks by other singers. But Houston was clearly the star of that album and generated the album's only hits."Waiting to Exhale," on the other hand, is more an ensemble piece. Some of that has to do with the fact that Houston only appears on three tracks (one of them a duet with CeCe Winans)

The anti-Bush messages were more explicit out on the street, right before the Vote for Change concert kicked off last night at Washington's MCI Arena. One man hawked T-shirts that said, "Don't Get Bush-Whacked Again." Another held a sign that simply read, "Bush Must Go!" Inside, however, the 13 acts on stage mostly stuck to the greatest hits and never got too explicit about the political intentions behind the show. Vote for Change wrapped up its 11-state, 33-city tour last night. It was sponsored by MoveOn PAC, the election-oriented sister organization of the anti-Bush MoveOn.

Just announced Dark Star Orchestra -- 9:30 Club in Washington Nov. 30-Dec. 1. 800-955-5566 or tickets.com. Trans-Siberian Orchestra -- Verizon Center in Washington on Dec. 16. Also, at 1st Mariner Arena on Jan. 6. 410-547-7328 or ticketmaster.com. Badfish: A Tribute to Sublime -- Rams Head Live on Jan. 4. 410-244-1131 or ramsheadlive.com. Mo'Nique -- Meyerhoff Symphony Hall on Dec. 1. 410-547-7328 or ticketmaster.com. Daughtry -- U.S. Naval Academy's Alumni Hall in Annapolis on Nov. 10. 410-293-8497 or tickets.

Just announced Babyface, along with George Benson Pier Six Pavilion on June 25. Also, Joe Cocker is there July 14. 410-547-7328 or ticketmaster.com. Taylor Swift Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia on June 11. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday. Also, REO Speedwagon takes the stage June 23. Tickets on sale at 10 a.m. tomorrow. 410-547-7328 or ticketmaster.com. "Love Train -- The Sound of Philadelphia," starring The O'Jays, Russell Thompkins and the New Stylistics, Jerry Butler, Harold Melvin's Bluenotes, the Delfonics featuring William Hart, Eddie Holman, the Jones Girls, and the Intruders at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington on Aug. 8. 410-547-7328 or ticketmaster.

Last year will not be remembered as a high-water mark in pop music history. There were no breakthrough albums released, no singer or group that captured the nation's imagination. Sales were flat, touring was down and general enthusiasm was low. All in all, it was a lousy year for music fans.But that should make this a great year for Grammy watchers.How so? Because for once the Grammy contest is shaping up as a real horse race. With no obvious favorites and little sign of industry consensus, this year's nominees are harder to handicap than ever before.

Like anyone else in the music industry, Peabo Bryson wants his recordings to be successful. He'd like them to be big hits, in fact, to sell in the millions and crowd the top of the charts.Indeed, he's enormously happy that his current single, "Beauty and the Beast" -- a duet with Celine Dion from the current Disney film -- is quickly climbing the charts. "I love Walt Disney," he says over the phone from his home outside Atlanta. "I grew up on that stuff, and 'Beauty and the Beast' is one of my favorite stories of all time.