Battle of the ages

The Grammys is shaping up as a contest between teen idols and established stars. The 42nd annual Grammy awards Wednesday at the Staples Center in LA looks to be a race between

Monday, February 21st 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

The Grammys is shaping up as a contest between teen idols and established stars.

The 42nd annual Grammy awards Wednesday at the Staples Center in LA looks to be a race between teen favorites and an older generation of musicians.

The Backstreet Boys, Ricky Martin, TLC, Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears, who fill concert arenas and sell millions of CDs to their young fans, all are up for multiple nominations. Look for Grammy-cast performances by Spears, TLC and Martin, whose career caught fire after performing on last year's show.

Once young themselves, nominees Carlos Santana, Cher and Madonna are now on the other side of the age question -- although Santana does hedge his chances with "Smooth," a duet with heartthrob Rob Thomas nominated for record and song of the year along with pop collaboration with vocals.

Santana has the most nominations with 10, based on his "Supernatural" CD and the songs from it, most of them collaborations with other artists. Santana is scheduled to perform during the Grammys.

Others slated to appear as performers include the Dixie Chicks, Faith Hill, Whitney Houston, Kid Rock, Gloria Estefan, Sting, Marc Anthony, Poncho Sanchez, Chucho Valdes, Sting, Cheb Mami and Ibrahim Ferrer.

Martin, Valdes, Sanchez and Ferrer will appear in a special tribute to Latin music.

Melissa Rivers will be host of a pre-Grammy show on the E! Entertainment cable channel beginning at 6 p.m., and Rosie O'Donnell will be the host of the CBS broadcast of the ceremonies at 8 p.m. There will be a live feed to the www.grammy.com Web site throughout the day.

The full list of nominees can be found online at www.inlandempireonline.com/entertainment