The Beat

GLANCING BACK: As we look back at 2001 one last time, we survey a number of artists who tell us their highlights from the past year:

Pink (She reached back a little farther, but we're giving her creative license): "There were so many highlights, but I'd say taking my dad to the 2000 Billboard Awards last year. He was my date. And if you see a picture of him when I went into the press room with my award, it was like my dream. If you [looked up] 'proud dad' in the dictionary, his face would be right up there. He was so damn cute. I was so damn happy."

Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge of Blink-182: Hoppus says, "Our highlight was having our record go No. 1 [on The Billboard 200]. That was a huge deal for us. It was a dream that we never even dreamed, because we never thought of it as a possibility. We were doing a promotional tour when we found out. And to have it come true is something that really humbles us today, six months after the record came out."

DeLonge recalls, "The highlight is the fact that we got to have another year of success with our band and that it's not all gone. After the last year, you never know what's coming up. It's just nice to go around and play shows and have kids show up."

Tim McGraw: "My highlight was finding out my wife was pregnant. [McGraw was interviewed before his third daughter was born.] Professionally, it was winning CMA [Country Music Assn.] entertainer of the year and my tour. That tour came together so much like our first meeting, [where we described] everything that we wanted to happen and the vibe that we wanted on the tour with Mark Collie and Kenny Chesney. It was almost a magical kind of tour. We were kind of floating on the clouds through the whole tour. It was so fun."

Chris Kirkpatrick of 'N Sync: "Our highlight was our tour. When you do a tour that's all stadiums, that's amazing. This summer's tour was huge. Every city we would go to, it was almost overwhelming. For the first time, there's no way we could have never fallen into the rut of doing the show, because every time you go out you're looking at a different mass of people. It's not like you're doing a show in front of 2,000 tonight, 5,000 tomorrow. This is so many people, you get choked up every time you go on stage. The tour was amazing, the Super Bowl was amazing, the album was great. It was a great year."

Jamie O'Neal: "It was having two No. 1 records. Also, I got married a year ago, and having my husband with me and playing with my band was great; I loved getting to play with my own band night after night on tour. Touring with Martina McBride and Reba McEntire was a big highlight for me, too."

Sully Erna of Godsmack: "I would have to say my new baby. Other than that, it's been a really fun year. We had an amazing tour. We just finished three years of straight touring. We need to take a break."



TUNE IN: The American Music Awards, slated for Wednesday (9), will be hosted by Sean "P. Diddy" Combs and Jenny McCarthy. Among the performers will be Yolanda Adams, Brooks & Dunn, Cher, Toby Keith, Kid Rock, Uncle Kracker, Lenny Kravitz, Britney Spears, Mick Jagger, Usher, and Shaggy. Garth Brooks will receive the American Music Awards' Special Award of Merit.

Among the presenters are Clint Black, Melissa Etheridge, Faith Evans, Nelly Furtado, Ja Rule, Alicia Keys, Lifehouse, Ludacris, Reba McEntire, Master P, Method Man, 'N Sync, Pink, Redman, Gene Simmons, and Paul Stanley.



COMING UP: Joey Ramone was working on an album before his sad death from cancer last April. That effort, Don't Worry About Me, will come out Feb. 19 on Sanctuary Records. Ramone had been working on the album off and on since the Ramones broke up in 1996. He collaborated on the project with his longtime friend Daniel Rey, who worked on the final mixes after Ramone's passing.

In other Ramones news, a Ramones tribute album is being planned for release this spring on DV8/Columbia. Among the participants are Rob Zombie, Eddie Vedder, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, the Offspring, and Rancid.