Boyz, Blowfish Lead Awards Field

Sun., Dec. 17, 1995

The Hollywood Reporter

Two of the best-selling mainstream bands of the year, Boyz II Men and Hootie & the Blowfish, each hooked five nominations including favorite band and favorite album to lead the balloting for the 1996 American Music Awards.

Rockers Green Day, hip-hop trio TLC, greenhorn country singer Shania Twain, the Eagles, Michael Jackson and Garth Brooks were all triple nominees for the awards, to be aired live on ABC on Jan. 29 from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

While R&B crooners Boyz II Men have been perennial award winners, with six AMAs on their mantel already, the 23rd annual AMAs mark the first time relative newcomers Hootie & the Blowfish have made this kind of award-show impact since their Cinderella-like rise this year. The group, which has been dismissed by some critics as “the luckiest garage band in the world,” is nonetheless loved by the public for its straight-ahead rock and has sold 12 million records to become the best-sellers of 1995.

The Eagles, who won AMAs way back in 1977 and 1981, will compete against Boyz II Men and Hootie in two key categories, favorite album and artist in the pop-rock field. Hootie will have to blow past some tough competition in the favorite new artist category where the group faces Blues Traveler and another artist almost as hot as themselves, Alanis Morissette, who is additionally up for favorite female artist.

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