FIONA APPLE - APPLE REDEEMED BY GRAMMY NOD

FIONA APPLE was thrilled just to be nominated for this year's (06) Grammy Awards because it gave her vindication over critics who doubted her talent. The angst-ridden artist - whose latest album EXTRAORDINARY MACHINE lost out to KELLY CLARKSON's disc BREAKAWAY for the Best Pop Vocal Album - used the nomination to overcome criticism from a trusted companion. She says, "Oh yeah! Definitely - especially as there was a time a couple of years ago when one of my friends told me that I wasn't singing well. This was during the recording of the album. And it took me a long time to...I felt like dying! This was somebody who knew what they were talking about. So that was my second thought."