Feb 7, 2008 — I lost faith in the Grammys last year when Justin Timberlake was auctioned off to perform with a fan.

Could it be having a mid-life crisis? The awards show - and the rest of the music industry - isn't what it used to be.

Take Amy Winehouse. Her sultry voice has potential, but the unimaginative lyrics of “Rehab” have become her reality. This is just one discouraging sign of the times.

Newer recording equipment and MySpace have evened the playing field. Best New Artist nominee Feist got her big break from an iPod commercial for crying out loud.

The Grammys ceremony seems to focus less on great music and more on what's popular now. The Recording Academy should have learned its lessons after the 1990 Milli Vanilli fiasco, when they had to take back the Best New Artist Grammy.

Other genres and talented, innovative artists get swept under the rug during the award show. Some of these musicians even hail from the area.

York native and saxophonist Tim Warfield played on several Grammy-nominated jazz recordings. York's Del McCoury and his band won a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album in 2006. Stewartstown native Amy Perciballi and her group, The Phoenix Bach Choir, are nominated for

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Best Classical Album and three other awards this year. These categories have stuck around - unlike Best Disco Recording, which bit the dust in 1980.

This year's Grammy performers include the usual laundry list of pop stars and some gospel thrown in for good measure. Something isn't right.

If people want pop, they should watch the American Music Awards. The Grammys are supposed to celebrate more than 20 genres of music. Despite its drawbacks, The Grammys still set the standards in music. I think they can be reinvented to remain relevant. Refocus on talent and forget the train wrecks and fleetingly famous. So, keeping the tradition alive, here are my predictions (for 3 of the 110 categories):

· Record of the Year: Rihanna. She was able to get “Umbrella” stuck in almost every American's head for months and single-handedly brought rainwear back in vogue.

· Album of the Year: Kanye West. He lost previous years for better albums. He's proven that he's a sore loser more than once. He's going to win best album in 2008.

· Song of the Year: Amy Winehouse, despite being a no-show at this year's awards since she's ironically in rehab. The fact that she penned this ditty helps. She's also a strong contender for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

POPeye is a bi-weekly column focusing on the ever-changing landscape of popular culture.To reach writer Erin McCracken, call 771-2051 or send an e-mail emccracken@ydr.com.