Faces to Watch in ’96 : The Year’s in Their Hands : Well, maybe not just theirs (notice we don’t list Jim Carrey). But these artists and entertainers--some you know, some you don’t--are most likely to make some kind of splash in ’96. Ready? Everybody into the pool. : POP MUSIC : Alison Krauss

In a country-music world increasingly enamored with show-biz flash, Alison Krauss almost seems like a heavenly messenger of simplicity and purity. The 24-year-old singer-fiddler would rather be holed up in the studio producing and singing with down-home cohorts like Louisiana’s Cox Family than auditioning dancers or being fitted for stage gowns.

Though her latest album, a Rounder Records compilation called “Now That I’ve Found You,” has sold nearly 2 million copies, Krauss is still being discovered by the non-country world. Once you hear the beauty of Krauss’ voice, you’re hooked, which sets up her next album for blockbuster numbers.

The Illinois native began as a child prodigy tearing it up on the fiddle-contest circuit.But her bell-clear voice and her blending of the traditional with the contemporary have sparked her growing stardom. She’s the youngest person ever inducted into the Grand Ole Opry and has already won three Grammys.

It’s all gravy to Krauss. “Nobody’s playing it to get rich,” she says, speaking for herself and her band, Union Station. “We’d be playing another type of music if that was the goal.”

She’s recording the next album now, but the release date is undetermined. Says a close aide: “She’s a perfectionist.”