Can 'Confessions' make Liza Minnelli a grand slam awards champ?

After sitting on third base since 1973, Liza Minnelli could finally become the 11th artist to complete the awards grand slam if she wins a Grammy Award for "Confessions," her first studio album in almost 15 years. The disc dropped Tuesday to good reviews and Dan Aquilante of the New York Post pegs it as a potential contender in the traditional pop album category: "Liza is more Algonquin than Kit Kat Club on this record of cabaret standards and torch burners. Minnelli, in strong voice, sings as if she's lived every world-weary lyric."


Liza Minnelli won the first of her four Tony Awards in 1965 for "Flora the Red Menace." That tuner was by her lifelong pals John Kander and Fred Ebb, who wanted her to star in their next stage show, "Cabaret." While she was passed over for that, Minnelli landed the plum role of Sally Bowles for the 1972 film version and won the lead actress Academy Award. Weeks after picking up that Oscar, she took home an Emmy Award for her TV special "Liza with a Z."

Minnelli has had two Grammy bids in the relatively new traditional pop album category. In 1997, she lost for her last studio album "Gently" to Tony Bennett, who won the fourth of 10 times in this race for "Here's to the Ladies." Last year, she lost for "Liza at the Palace" to Michael Buble, who prevailed for the second time in three years for "Michael Buble Meets Madison Square Garden."

While Minnelli has yet to win a competitive Grammy, she has received accolades from the music academy. In 1990, she was given the Living Legend award, and in 2008 the soundtrack from "Cabaret" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Also missing a Grammy from their awards collections are Jeremy Irons, Al Pacino and Maggie Smith. They may seem unlikely candidates to win this award, but remember that the Grammys have categories for best spoken word and children’s recordings. Spoken word got grand slammers John Gielgud and Helen Hayes their Grammys, while children’s recordings worked for Rita Moreno and Audrey Hepburn.


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