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In my opinion there weren't any surprises in the awards list. As usual Steve Vai lost out on the the Rock Instrumental, and the Miles Davis box received the best packaging but that has been a constant for nearly the last 5 years.

The press has zeroed in on 50 cent not winning. Well after looking at the number of RAP categories that are available if they couldn't find a home for him then they didn't want him to win. The press has said that he should have considering he had the best selling album of 2003. When has popularity ever been synonmous with artistic integrity, however one could argue that the Grammy program has played both sides in recent years.

I was quite happy to see Evanescence take the Best New Artist category. And yes I'll probably have to go out and get the OutKast record considering the album of the year nod.

The odd ball win for me was Sting and Mary J. Blige for the best pop collaboration. Just because it looks good on paper doesn't mean it works.

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