Babyface

If they ever gave an award for producing awards shows, Dick Clark would win in a walk.It isn't just that he has the American Music Awards airing live from Los Angeles tonight at 8 on ABC (WMAR, Channel 2). As it turns out, Clark has one awards show a week from now through the end of February."We did the Golden Globes last Saturday," he says, over the phone from his office in Los Angeles. "We'll be doing the Daytime Soaps shortly after this one, then the Daytime Emmys, followed by the Academy of Country Music thing."

Whoever coined the phrase "Where there's smoke, there's fire" obviously had never heard Whitney Houston.Cue up "I'm Your Baby Tonight" (Arista 8616), her first album in three years, which arrives in record stores today, and it sounds like this 27-year-old is really smoking -- almost every song is packed with sultry moans, note-bending asides, window-rattling gospel shouts, the works. Without a doubt, her performance shows all the hallmarks of great soul singing.Except soul itself, that is. Somehow, the emotional fire that usually burns behind such singing never quite ignites for Houston.

As much as we talk and write about the power of the Internet, it is easy to forget that nothing focuses the nation's attention on a topic or event like TV - particularly the combined gaze of cameras from the major networks of ABC, NBC and CBS. That's the case tonight when the networks and a huge group of Hollywood A-listers present Stand Up to Cancer. All three network news anchors - Katie Couric, Charles Gibson and Brian Williams - will be reporting stories on medical advances and efforts.

Nominees for the American Music Awards, to be awarded tonight are:* Pop/RockFavorite Male Artist: Bryan AdamsMichael BoltonMeat LoafFavorite Female Artist:Mariah CareyJanet JacksonBonnie RaittFavorite Band, Duo or Group: Ace of BasePink FloydStone Temple PilotsFavorite Single: "I'll Make Love to You" (Boyz II Men)The Power of Love" (Celine Dion)"The Sign" (Ace of Base)Favorite Album:"August and Everything After" (Counting Crows)The Lion King" (Soundtrack)"Music Box" (Mariah Carey)Favorite New Artist: Ace of BaseAll-4-OneCounting Crows* Soul/Rhythm & BluesFavorite Male Artist: BabyfaceTevin CampbellThe Artist Formerly Known as PrinceFavorite Female Artist: Anita BakerToni BraxtonJanet JacksonFavorite Band, Duo or Group: Boyz II MenJodeciSalt-N-PepaFavorite Single: "I Swear" (All-4-One)

BabyfaceThe Day (Epic 67293)For a man who makes hit records as easily as other people make sandwiches, Babyface doesn't have much truck with the hard-sell. In fact, the sound he delivers on his new solo album, "The Day," is so soothing and understated that listening to it is almost like having someone whisper in your ear -- except, of course, that you almost always end up humming along. Even when the groove is insistent, as on the rap-flavored "This Is for the Lover in You," the sound stays soft around the edges, using strings and a well-harmonized chorus to cushion both Howard Hewett's exuberant cameo and L.L. Cool J's typically crisp wordplay.

A lot can happen in four years. A kid can become a college graduate. Presidential administrations can come and go. Madonna could go through as many as five different hairstyles. But that's nothing compared to the number of changes that have taken place in R&B world. In 1996, Babyface was the hottest producer around; today it's Rodney Jerkins. Back then, the key to crossover was big, dramatic power ballads; now, folks want a different flavor in their slow jams. In those days, the gangsta aesthetic still seemed hip and edgy; these days, it's utterly passe.

If all you went by was chart clout, Puff Daddy & the Family's "No Way Out" World Tour would be the road show of the decade.With Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs as headliner, and a bill that includes Li'l Kim, Ma$e, 112, Busta Rhymes, Foxy Brown, Usher and Jay-Z, the acts assembled for this outing have dominated radio and MTV for the last 18 months. In fact, Puff Daddy himself virtually rules the pop and R&B markets, having produced or performed on singles that spent 22 consecutive weeks at No. 1, a streak that included his own Police-powered hit, "I'll Be Missing You."

To the rest of the world, the months between Sept. 21 and Dec. 21 constitute fall. For the recording industry, however, that time is considered the Christmas Rush. It's when CD stores move the most product, and when major labels try their hardest to improve their profit picture.This year is no exception. Big new albums are already out by Fleetwood Mac, Mariah Carey and Puff Daddy, and there's more the way. Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Janet Jackson,Jane's Addiction, L.L. Cool J, Salt-N-Pepa, Shania Twain, Babyface, Barbra Streisand and Metallica are just a few of the acts who will be vying for the top of the pops in the coming months.

As homecomings go, Dru Hill's return to Baltimore this evening could be a bit more elaborate.After eight months of nonstop touring and recording, the Baltimore-based quartet arrives in town early this evening, after an all-day drive from Atlanta. It will go straight to the Baltimore Arena, where Dru Hill opens the Budweiser Superfest, sharing the bill with Mary J. Blige, Aliyaah, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Ginuwine. Once the group has performed, its members will spend time with their families before hitting the road again tomorrow.

THE QUESTION Reader Miriam Tillman, writing from UMBC, suggested this week's question: What song or piece of music will never be the same for you again after hearing it in a particular film? (The two that came to her mind are "Stuck in the Middle with You" in Reservoir Dogs, and "Singin' in the Rain" in A Clockwork Orange.) WHAT YOU SAY "Tomorrow (The Sun'll Come Out Tomorrow)," from Annie, is one of those songs I've never been able to stand; it had the same effect on me as fingernails on a chalkboard does for many others.