Looks like it’ll be a dead heat

Michael Jackson has a chance to win artist of the year posthumously at the American Music Awards.

The late pop superstar is among a diverse group of artists nominated for the top honor.

Country star Taylor Swift, rapper Eminem, rockers Kings of Leon and flamboyant Lady Gaga are the other nominees.

Swift topped all artists with six nominations. Jackson followed with five nominations and Eminem received four.

The nominees were selected through a measurement combining sales and radio airplay. Winners, determined by an online vote, will be announced at a televised ceremony Nov. 22.

Blanket exemption?

Whether Michael Jackson’s children will be part of an upcoming TV series about his brothers is up in the air.

A&E says “The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty” is focused on brothers Jackie, Jermaine, Tito and Marlon and their lives after Michael’s death.

A network spokesman said he didn’t know whether Jackson’s children Paris, Prince Michael and Prince Michael II (aka Blanket) had been filmed.

Troubling to Harry

Harry Connick Jr. says he did the right thing by expressing his outrage at a blackface skit poking fun at the Jackson Five in Australia last week.

The skit was featured on a TV variety show where Connick was a guest judge. Four men in blackface and with Afro wigs sang and danced behind a Michael Jackson impersonator wearing white makeup.

Connick gave the performance a zero score.

The birthday bunch

Singer Barry McGuire is 74. Actress Linda Lavin is 72. Actress-director Penny Marshall is 67. Musician Richard Carpenter (The Carpenters) is 63. Singer Tito Jackson is 56. Actress Tanya Roberts is 54. TV chef Emeril Lagasse is 50. TV host Paige Davis (“Trading Spaces”) is 40. Singer Eric Benet is 39. Singer Ginuwine is 39. Singer Keyshia Cole is 28.