VH1's 3rd Annual GRAMMY Awards Poll Says Usher Will Be Yelling 'Yeah' at This Year's Ceremony on Sunday, February 13

VH1's 3rd Annual GRAMMY Awards Poll Says Usher Will Be Yelling 'Yeah' at This Year's Ceremony on Sunday, February 13

Brush Up on This Year's Nominees With VH1's '2005 Grammy Nomination Special' Hosted by Aamer Haleem Premiering Wednesday, February 9 at 8 Pm (ET/PT)*

NEW YORK, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Looks like Usher, Tim McGraw and Kanye West may want to clear some shelves for GRAMMY Awards that will be given out on Sunday, February 13, according to a recent VH1 poll.

The three artists came out on top in the marquee categories in VH1's 3rd annual GRAMMY Awards poll of adults 18-49. VH1 commissioned a telephone poll of a random national sample of 470 men and women between the ages of 18 and 49 and asked who they thought would take home GRAMMY Awards for Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist. Respondents were also asked if they had purchased music by any of the Best New Artist nominees.

The VH1 poll's most intriguing findings include:

-- Usher was far and away the biggest winner for Album of the Year and
Record of the Year, outpacing the nearest competitor by at least a 2-1
margin in both categories.

-- This year's breakout hip-hop star, Kanye West, barely edged out
Maroon 5 and Gretchen Wilson in the Best New Artist category.

-- Kanye West and Maroon 5 might be positioned for long and successful
careers in the music industry. Among the Best New Artist nominees,
respondents were most likely to own records by these two new acts.

*all times ET/PT

Contacts: Brett Henne/VH1 Lori Hornik/VH1
212-846-6752 212-846-7131

Ariana Urbont/MTVN
310-752-8079



"As we found in last year's VH1 poll, America still loves urban and hip hop music. Country superstars pop on the music radar, too," said Rick Krim, Executive Vice President, Music and Talent, VH1. "But consumers' tastes and those of the music industry voters often differ, so we'll have to wait until Sunday the 13th to see who actually will take home the Grammy."

For those who aren't on a first name basis with Usher, Kanye and Alicia, VH1 will prep its viewers on everything they ever wanted to know about the nominees on VH1's "2005 Grammy Nomination Special" Premiering on Wednesday, February 9 at 8 pm. Hosted by VH1's Aamer Haleem, the show will run through all of the nominees for Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist. The show will highlight some of the nominees through their videos as well as interviews from the artists and other music industry experts.

The overall VH1 GRAMMY poll results for those who had an opinion are as follows:

Album of the Year Rankings

"Confessions," Usher -- 42%
"Genius Loves Company," Ray Charles & Various Artists -- 18%
"American Idiot," Green Day -- 12%
"The Diary of Alicia Keys," Alicia Keys -- 11%
"The College Dropout," Kanye West -- 5%

Record of the Year Rankings

"Yeah," Usher featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris -- 39%
"Here We Go Again," Ray Charles & Norah Jones -- 20%
"Let's Get It Started," The Black Eyed Peas -- 13%
"American Idiot," Green Day -- 9%
"Heaven," Los Lonely Boys -- 7%

Song of the Year Rankings

"Live Like You Were Dying," Tim McGraw -- 30%
"If I Ain't Got You," Alicia Keys -- 26%
"Jesus Walks," Kanye West -- 15%
"The Reason," Hoobastank -- 10%
"Daughters," John Mayer -- 6%

Best New Artist of the Year Rankings

Kanye West -- 23%
Maroon 5 -- 20%
Gretchen Wilson -- 19%
Los Lonely Boys -- 15%
Joss Stone -- 6%



Percentage of Respondents Who Have Purchased Music By a Best New Artist Nominee

Kanye West -- 16%
Maroon 5 -- 15%
Los Lonely Boys -- 10%
Gretchen Wilson -- 10%
Joss Stone -- 5%



This VH1 poll was conducted by telephone January 14-18 among a random national sample of 470 adults 18-49. The results have a 4.5% margin of error. Field work was done via the weekly Express omnibus survey, operated by TNS of Horsham, PA.

TNS provides full-service, primary market research in the United States. It is part of one of the world's leading marketing information groups, providing market measurement, analysis and insight through its operating companies in 70 countries. For more information about TNS, go to http://www.tns-i.com/.

VH1 connects viewers to the music, artists and pop culture that matter to them most with series, specials, live events, exclusive online content and public affairs initiatives. VH1 is available in nearly 87 million households in the U.S. VH1 also has an array of digital services including VH1 Classic, VH1 Soul, VHUno, VH1 Mega Hits and VH1 Country. Connect with VH1 at http://www.vh1.com/.


Source: VH1

CONTACT: Lori Hornik, +1-212-846-7131, or Brett Henne, +1-212-846-6752,
or both of VH1; Ariana Urbont of MTVN, +1-310-752-8079

Web site: http://www.vh1.com/


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