POP/ROCK - Feb. 2, 1996

Shades of ‘Evita’?: While Madonna faces protesters in Argentina over her portrayal of Eva Peron in the movie version of “Evita,” another pop star, Michael Jackson, is stirring controversy in Brazil, where officials are upset over his use of a Rio de Janeiro shantytown as the site for an upcoming video. “His visit is just to place Rio as a city of problems, of poverty,” Rio de Janeiro state Gov. Marcello Alencar said, referring to Jackson’s plan to film “They Don’t Care About Us” in the hillside slum of Santa Marta, a violent no-man’s land controlled by cocaine traffickers. But while officials say that the filming could hurt Rio’s bid to host the 2004 Olympics, as well as a campaign to attract foreign investment, some residents of Santa Marta have applauded the idea and said it may call attention to the area’s woes.

Morissette vs. Twain: Rocker Alanis Morissette, who received six Grammy nominations this year, will vie with country singer and four-time Grammy nominee Shania Twain in several top categories including album, single, songwriter, female vocalist and entertainer of the year, for the 25th anniversary Juno Awards, Canada’s version of the Grammys, which will be held in Hamilton, Ontario, on March 10. Twain received seven Juno nominations, topping Morissette’s six. Interestingly, one category where Morissette was omitted in the Canadian nominations was best-selling album. In the United States, her “Jagged Little Pill” album has sold nearly 5 million copies.