COLOR GRAMMYS PURPLE

Memo to Prince: Call your tailor. Order a purple tux.

Just as 1984 was Michael Jackson’s year at the Grammy Awards, this figures to be Prince’s year. The renegade singer’s “Purple Rain” sound track is the front-runner for album of the year and his “When Doves Cry” is one of two leading candidates for best record.

The 27th annual Grammy nominations won’t be announced until Thursday, but they’re usually not too hard to forecast. You just have to know how the 5,000 members of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences vote: They tend to favor big hits that are right in the mainstream of popular music.

Here are the records and artists I think have the best chance of being nominated in three key categories:

ALBUM OF THE YEAR:

1--”PURPLE RAIN,” Prince (Warner Bros.). Prince has never won a Grammy, but then he’s never had an album stay at No. 1 for 24 weeks, either. His Grammy time has come.

2--”CAN’T SLOW DOWN,” Lionel Richie (Motown). Richie is the kind of mainstream pop artist that Grammy voters have traditionally favored. But Prince has a narrow edge because the academy’s increasingly younger membership may want to strike a bolder, more adventurous choice.

3--”BORN IN THE U.S.A.,” Bruce Springsteen (Columbia). This was the year Springsteen became a mass appeal favorite: three Top 10 singles, the cover of People, videos, dance re-mixes. Can a Grammy be far behind?

4--”PRIVATE DANCER,” Tina Turner (Capitol). Turner’s album was widely admired, but she stands a far better chance of winning for record of the year.

5--”SHE’S SO UNUSUAL,” Cyndi Lauper (Epic). Lauper is the runaway favorite to win as best new artist and is also likely to be nominated for album and record of the year. Only three other acts in Grammy history have done all that: Bobbie Gentry, the Carpenters and Christopher Cross.

Also possible: the Cars’ “Heartbeat City,” the “Footloose” sound track, the Pointer Sisters’ “Breakout,” Culture Club’s “Colour by Numbers,” and Van Halen’s “1984.”

RECORD OF THE YEAR:

1--”WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT,” Tina Turner. Talk about long hard climbs: This was the first No. 1 hit of Turner’s 24-year chart career. Sentiment may give her the edge in a razor-close race with Prince.

2--”WHEN DOVES CRY,” Prince. This smash topped the pop, black and dance charts, and was the only 1984 single to sell 2 million copies.

3--”HELLO,” Lionel Richie. Richie was nominated for record of the year in 1981 with “Endless Love” and again last year with “All Night Long.” This instant standard should put him back in the finals.

4--”GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN,” Cyndi Lauper. “Time After Time” was a more mature, adult-oriented record, the kind Grammy voters usually prefer. But “Girls” made a splashier impact and benefitted from a more memorable video.

5--”I WANT A NEW DRUG,” Huey Lewis & the News (Chrysalis). Grammy voters may nominate Lewis here as a consolation prize for being shut out of the album of the year race. His “Sports” was released just before the October, 1983, to September, 1984, eligibility period.

Also possible: Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark,” Phil Collins’ “Against All Odds,” the Pointer Sisters’ “Jump (For My Love),” Deniece Williams’ “Let’s Hear It for the Boy,” Stevie Wonder’s “I Just Called to Say I Love You,” Billy Ocean’s “Caribbean Queen,” the Cars’ “Drive,” and Yes’ “Owner Of A Lonely Heart.”

BEST NEW ARTIST:

Cyndi Lauper, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Sheila E., Corey Hart, and Jack Wagner. Also possible: the Honeydrippers, Tracey Ullman, Rockwell, Sam Harris, Dennis DeYoung, and the Judds.

Soothsayer Grein correctly predicted four of the five nominees for record of the year last year, and would have had a clean sweep if Michael Jackson had been nominated for “Billie Jean” instead of “Beat It.” He also correctly tabbed four of the five album nominees.