People: May 6, 2002

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SITCOM OPERA STUD

MTV is old school. These days, it is sitcoms and TV newsmagazines that are generating buzz for budding music stars. When JOSH GROBAN, 21, released his self-titled album last November, its unconventional style baffled radio stations. That's because Groban wraps his baritone around a hybrid of opera and pop, sings in English, Spanish and Italian and, when he performs, is not afraid to look and act like Michael Bolton. If DJs were indifferent, viewers clamored for information after Groban appeared on Ally McBeal playing a loser with pipes of gold. Last week, after he was profiled on ABC's 20/20, sales rocketed, sending the CD into the Top 10. "I'm not performing for the classical crowd or the Britney crowd," says Groban. "I'm performing for people who like all different kinds of music." And watch a lot of TV.

A RATINGS TRIUMPH, BUT THE JURY'S STILL OUT ON TRUE LOVE

For those blissfully unaware of The Bachelor, the show's setup went like this: a 31-year-old management consultant, ALEX MICHEL, was introduced by abc to 25 strangers vying to become his wife. Each week he narrowed the field after assessing how the competitors performed in such challenges as lavish dinners, mud baths and trips to Hawaii. Like all high-stakes sporting events, the final episode last Thursday, in which Michel picked between the two remaining contestants, kicked off with a one-hour preshow--in this one, the 23 women thwarted in their quest to become Mrs. Michel reunited to offer their commentary and lay odds on which finalist would take home the championship ring. Michel, whose sincerity seemed as thin as his hair gel is thick, sent Trista Rehn, a dancer for the Miami Heat, packing, leaving only AMANDA MARSH, 23, a breast-enhanced, doe-eyed events planner from Chanute, Kan. Though cameras recorded Michel buying an engagement ring, the Harvard graduate told Amanda he would keep it in a safe place while they moved to separate apartments in the same city to date and decide if they really liked each other. Oh, for a return to the dignity of arranged marriages.

LOSES A JOB, WINS JACK

When last we checked in with that crazy, love-struck couple JACK WELCH and SUZY WETLAUFER, she was taking a leave of absence from her job and he was confronting the leave of half his $900 million fortune in a divorce settlement with his second wife. The reason for both losses was the romantic relationship sparked when Wetlaufer, the editor of the Harvard Business Review, interviewed Welch, the retired head of GE, for a story in her publication. But the saga continues now that journalists have dug into her past. Wetlaufer was supposed to return to HBR as an editor-at-large, but last week she resigned from the journal entirely, saying her presence would be a distraction. This comes just as two articles, one in Vanity Fair and one in New York magazine, have turned up such tidbits as an affair (that she confirms) with a 24-year-old editorial assistant and a fling (that both parties deny) with former Ford ceo Jacques Nasser. Welch and Wetlaufer are still very much an item, and the next thing you read about them may be their wedding announcement.

IS THE OVAL OFFICE BIG ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF THEM?