New Releases
Get the release dates on all of the upcoming albums and singles!

Offspring to tour
The Offspring have turned down an offer to play the main stage of Lollapalooza this summer. Instead, they'll tour on their own. Meanwhile, it appears the band have their first No. 1 single in the U.K. with "Pretty Fly (For a While Guy)," which is outselling the nearest contender two-to-one.

U2 News
U2 is hard at work in Dublin on their next studio album, but there's no word on when it will be released. In a recent interview, guitarist The Edge said, "We are aiming to finish it sometime in the summer, but we don't want to set a firm deadline because we don't want to get into the same trap that we did last time. We made a mistake of establishing a deadline too far in advance with Pop. The last month turned out to be a real scramble to get it out before the PopMart tour." He went on to say he thinks PopMart could've been better than it was if the group had had more time work on it.

News of Sugar Ray
In the early days, Sugar Ray singer Mark McGrath was known for baiting audiences and spouting crude nonsense. He says that such impulsively idiotic moves as hurling filled cans of beer into concert crowds even earned him death threats during the band's early days. Looking back, McGrath sees his stage persona as a mask for deep insecurity about his singing ability: "I used to scream and yell, any kind of antics to get away from my voice." Sugar Rar's news CD 14:59 came out 1/12.

Semisonic Tours
Semisonic will return to the road for a month-long club tour beginning January 26th in Lawrence, Kansas. The Minneapolis-based trio will first set up shop in Los Angeles to shoot a video for their current single "Secret Smile." The single is the third from their album, Feeling Strangely Fine, and will mark a full year on the pop album charts in mid-March. The shoot for "Secret Smile" will be the second video the band has done in Los Angeles, having filmed their "Closing Time" video around the corner from the venerable Al's Bar near downtown. The new round of tour dates pairs the band up with opener Remy Zero, who are supporting their album, Villa Elaine.

The Eagles Fly High
The Eagles continue to fly high. Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 has just been certified as the "co-best" selling album of all time in the U.S. The Recording Industry Association of America has certified that the Eagles' album has reached sales of 25 million copies, and ties it with what was once thought the unbeatable Michael Jackson's Thriller. Greatest Hits was released in February 1976, and was the first album ever to be certified by the RIAA's platinum certification award category (1 million units shipped), which was introduced that year. Following The Eagles and Jackson in RIAA's all time sales are Pink Floyd's "The Wall" (22 million); Billy Joel's "Greatest Hits Volume I & II" (18 million); Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours" (18 million); and Led Zeppelin's "Led Zeppelin IV" (17 million).

Grammy Nominees!
List of Grammy nominations

Record of the Year: The Boy Is Mine, Brandy & Monica; My Heart Will Go On, Celine Dion; Iris, Goo Goo Dolls; Ray of Light, Madonna; You're Still the One, Shania Twain.

Album of the Year: The Globe Sessions, Sheryl Crow; Version 2.0, Garbage; The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Lauryn Hill; Ray of Light, Madonna; Come on Over, Shania Twain.

Song of the Year: I Don't Want to Miss a Thing, Diane Warren; Iris, John Rzeznik; Lean on Me, Kirk Franklin; My Heart Will Go On, James Horner & Will Jennings; You're Still the One, Robert John Mutt Lange and Shania Twain.

New Artist: Backstreet Boys; Andrea Bocelli; Dixie Chicks; Lauryn Hill; Natalie Imbruglia.

Female Pop Vocal Performance: My Favorite Mistake, Sheryl Crow; My Heart Will Go On, Celine Dion; Can't Take My Eyes Off of You, Lauryn Hill; Torn, Natalie Imbruglia; Adia, Sarah McLachlan.

Long form Music Video: They Wanted the Highway, Fastball; Inspired by Bach: Six Gestures — No. 6, Yo-Yo Ma; Rock and Roll Heart, Lou Reed; TeleVoid, Scott Rockenfield and Paul Speer Featuring Sir Mix-A-Lot; Robert Altman's Jazz '34: Remembrances of Kansas City Swing, Various Artists.

Male Pop Vocal Performance: Save Tonight, Eagle-Eye Cherry; My Father's Eyes, Eric Clapton; Anytime, Brian McKnight; Lullaby, Shawn Mullins; You Were Meant for Me, Sting.

Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal: I Don't Want to Miss a Thing, Aerosmith; One Week, Barenaked Ladies; Iris, Goo Goo Dolls; Crush, Dave Matthews Band; Jump Jive an' Wail, Brian Setzer Orchestra.

Pop Collaboration with Vocals: How Come, How Long, Babyface with Stevie Wonder; Kisses Sweeter Than Wine, Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt; I Still Have That Other Girl, Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach; I'm Your Angel, R. Kelly and Celine Dion; Shenandoah, Van Morrison and the Chieftains.

Pop Instrumental Performance: The X-Files Theme, Dust Brothers; Big Country, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones; My Heart Will Go On (Love Theme From Titanic), Kenny G; Follow Me, Pat Metheny Group; Sleepwalk, Brian Setzer Orchestra.

Dance Recording: When Will You Learn, Boy George; Around the World, Daft Punk; Heaven's What I Feel, Gloria Estefan; Disco Inferno, Cyndi Lauper; Ray of Light, Madonna.

Pop Album: Pilgrim, Eric Clapton; Let's Talk About Love, Celine Dion; Left of the Middle, Natalie Imbruglia; Ray of Light, Madonna; The Dirty Boogie, Brian Setzer Orchestra.

Traditional Pop Vocal Performance: The Birthday Concert, Shirley Bassey; Michael & George: Feinstein Sings Gershwin, Michael Feinstein; Jack Jones Paints a Tribute to Tony Bennett, Jack Jones; The Pleasure of his Company, Maureen McGovern; Live at Carnegie Hall — The 50th Anniversary Concert, Patti Page.

Female Rock Vocal Performance: Raspberry Swirl, Tori Amos; There Goes the Neighborhood, Sheryl Crow; Glass House, Ani DiFranco; Uninvited, Alanis Morissette; Can't Let Go, Lucinda Williams.

Male Rock Vocal Performance: Everybody Here Wants You, Jeff Buckley; Almost Saturday Night, John Fogerty; Have a Little Faith in Me, John Hiatt; Fly Away, Lenny Kravitz; Your Life Is Now, John Mellencamp.

Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal: Pink, Aerosmith; The Way, Fastball; Celebrity Skin, Hole; Bitter Sweet Symphony, The Verve; Heroes, The Wallflowers.

Hard Rock Performance: Psycho Circus, Kiss; The Dope Show, Marilyn Manson; Fuel, Metallica; Most High, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant; Do the Evolution, Pearl Jam.

Metal Performance: Bullet Train, Judas Priest; Better Than You, Metallica; Fried Chicken and Coffee, Nashville P----; No Shelter, Rage Against the Machine; Du Hast, Rammstein.

Rock Instrumental Performance: El Distorto de Melodica, Everclear; The Roots of Confidence, Pat Metheny Group; Take California, Propellerheads; A Train of Angels, Joe Satriani; Trouble Is..., Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band; The Ironic Twist, Jimmie Vaughan.

Rock Song: Bitter Sweet Symphony, Richard Ashcroft, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards; Celebrity Skin, Billy Corgan, Eric Erlandson and Courtney Love; Closing Time, Dan Wilson; Have a Little Faith In Me, John Hiatt; Uninvited, Alanis Morissette.

Rock Album: The Globe Sessions, Sheryl Crow; Premonition, John Fogerty; Version 2.0, Garbage; Celebrity Skin, Hole; Before These Crowded Streets, Dave Matthews Band.

Alternative Music Performance: From the Choirgirl Hotel, Tori Amos; Hello Nasty, Beastie Boys; Is This Desire?, PJ Harvey; Airbag/How Am I Driving?, Radiohead; Adore, Smashing Pumpkins.

Female R&B Vocal Performance: Are You That Somebody?, Aaliyah; Tyrone, Erykah Badu; A Rose Is Still a Rose, Aretha Franklin; Doo Wop (That Thing), Lauryn Hill; I Get Lonely, Janet Jackson.

Male R&B Vocal Performance: Matrimony: Maybe You, Maxwell; The Only One for Me, Brian McKnight; My Way, Usher; I Know, Luther Vandross; St. Louis Blues, Stevie Wonder.

R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal: The Boy Is Mine, Brandy & Monica; Lean on Me, Kirk Franklin With Mary J. Blige, R. Kelly, Bono, Crystal Lewis and the Family; Nothing Even Matters, Lauryn Hill and D'Angelo; All My Life, K-Ci & JoJo; Stay, The Temptations.

R&B Song: All My Life, Rory Bennett and JoJo Hailey; The Boy Is Mine, Brandy, Lashawn Daniels, Fred Jerkins III, Rodney Jerkins and Japhe Tejeda; Doo Wop (That Thing), Lauryn Hill; Lean on Me, Kirk Franklin; A Rose Is Still a Rose, Lauryn Hill.

R&B Album: Live, Erykah Badu; Never Say Never, Brandy; A Rose Is Still a Rose, Aretha Franklin; The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Lauryn Hill; Embrya, Maxwell.

Traditional R&B Vocal Performance: Believe in Me, Regina Belle; Live! One Night Only, Patti LaBelle; To Make Me Who I Am, Aaron Neville; Phoenix Rising, The Temptations; I Know, Luther Vandross.

Rap Solo Performance: Dangerous, Busta Rhymes; Lost Ones, Lauryn Hill; Hard Knock Life, Jay-Z; Gone Till November, Wyclef Jean; Gettin' Jiggy Wit It, Will Smith.

Rap Performance by a Duo or Group: Intergalactic, Beastie Boys; Money Ain't a Thang, Jermaine Dupri Featuring Jay-Z; Deja Vu (Uptown Baby), Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz; Rosa Parks, OutKast; Ghetto Supastar, Pras Michel Featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard and Mya.

Rap Album: Capital Punishment, Big Punisher; Life in 1472 — The Original Soundtrack, Jermaine Dupri; Vol. 2 ... Hard Knock Life, Jay-Z; Harlem World, Mase; The Love Movement, A Tribe Called Quest.

Female Country Vocal Performance: Love Still Remains, Emmylou Harris; This Kiss, Faith Hill; You're Still the One, Shania Twain; A Little Past Little Rock, Lee Ann Womack; There Goes My Baby, Trisha Yearwood.

Country Song: Holes in the Floor of Heaven, Billy Kirsch and Steve Wariner; If You Ever Have forever in Mind, Vince Gill and Troy Seals; This Kiss, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Robin Lerner and Annie Roboff; To Make You Feel My Love, Bob Dylan; You're Still the One, Robert John Mutt Lange & Shania Twain.

Spoken Comedy Album: Give Me Immortality or Give Me Death, Firesign Theatre; I'm Telling You for the Last Time, Jerry Seinfeld; Pure Drivel, Steve Martin; Totally Committed, Jeff Foxworthy; The 2000-Year-Old Man in the Year 2000, Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner.

Musical Show Album: Cabaret, Jay David Saks; Chicago, the Musical, Thomas Z. Shepard; The Lion King, Mark Mancina; Ragtime, the Musical, Jay David Saks; The Wizard of Oz, Robert Sher.

Song Written for a Motion Picture or Television: I Don't Want to Miss a Thing (From Armageddon), Diane Warren; My Heart Will Go On (From Titanic), James Horner and Will Jennings; Tomorrow Never Dies (From Tomorrow Never Dies), Sheryl Crow and Mitchell Froom; True to Your Heart (From Mulan), Matthew Wilder and David Zippel; Uninvited (From City of Angels), Alanis Morissette.

Recording Package: Big Bad Voodoo Daddy; Los Super Seven; Ray of Light; Readings by Jack Kerouac on the Beat Generation, Chika Azuma; Yield, Ames Bros. and Pearl Jam.

Boxed Recording Package: The Best of William Burroughs From Giorno Poetry Systems; The Complete Hank Williams; The Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington Cote D'Azur Concerts on Verve; Miles Davis Quintet 1965-1968; Miss Peggy Lee.

Album Notes: Charles Mingus: Passions of a Man — The Complete Atlantic Recordings 1956-1961; The Complete Hank Williams; From Where I Stand: The Black Experience in Country Music; Miles Davis Quintet 1965-1968; New York Philharmonic: The Historic Broadcasts 1923 to 1987.

Short form Music Video: Pink, Aerosmith; Bachelorette, Bjork; Ray of Light, Madonna; All Around the World, Oasis; Do the Evolution, Pearl Jam.

By The Associated Press