Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, BTS, Harry Styles, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion will be at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards this coming Sunday in a mix of live and recorded performances in downtown Los Angeles, The Recording, announced its academy among the cast.
The show, hosted by Trevor Noah, will also include performances by Bad Bunny, Doja Cat, Maren Morris, Roddy Ricch, Post Malone, Lil Baby, DaBaby and others in a format described by the Academy with a note on coronavirus safety. as artists “come together while they are still safely separated”. Mickey Guyton, the first black female artist nominated for best country solo performance, will take the stage, as will Black Pumas, the little-known soul band who received three nominations including album and album of the year .
The show will air on CBS and on Paramount +, the new streaming platform of the network’s parent company, ViacomCBS, which launched on Thursday and replaces CBS All Access.
A notable absence among this year’s cast: Adele, whose potential appearance has been heavily speculated by fans on the Internet. Ben Winston, the Grammys executive producer, said in an interview that Adele would not be involved.
Fans of the British singer have waited more than five years for the continuation of her album “25” and last raised their hopes in October when she presented “Saturday Night Live” – only to explain in her monologue: “My album is not finished yet . “Your label Columbia didn’t give any updates as to when the album might be ready.
Another big loophole? There is no announced performance of Beyoncé, the most nominated artist of the year, with nine nods in eight categories. While the superstar has played for some of the series’ biggest all-genre categories (album, album and song of the year), most recently for her acclaimed 2016 album “Lemonade,” her victories were only achieved in genre categories such as R. & B song and urban contemporary album. This year she was able to get her first big category wins since 2010 in song and record of the year for “Black Parade” and her appearance in Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage (Remix)”.
The last black woman to win Album of the Year was Lauryn Hill in 1999, and after Beyoncé was defeated in the main categories by Adele in 2017, followed by similar losses from Frank Ocean and Kendrick Lamar in recent years, many watchers said anticipated that black stars would get away with the Grammys instead of being part of an event that didn’t honor their work. The Weeknd, which received no nominations this year, criticized the process and announced its future boycott of the awards in a statement to the New York Times on Thursday: “Due to the secret committees, I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys . “
This year’s Grammys were scheduled for January 31, but were postponed in early January as coronavirus cases peaked in Los Angeles County. Those numbers have fallen sharply since then, although the area still has a “very high risk” of infection.
The show will be the latest test of the feasibility of a grand awards show during the pandemic. The Golden Globes had catastrophic audience ratings on February 28, drawing 62 percent fewer viewers than last year.
To attract an audience, the Grammys rely on the star power of their actors and the possibility of a fresh look. This year’s show is the first to be run by Winston, who in four decades is taking over from Ken Ehrlich, the producer who established “Grammy Moments” – artist pairings across generations and genres – and who sometimes clashed with stars.
One feature this year is based on the pandemic. The Grammys will highlight the struggles of independent music venues by having staff from four live music spots – the Troubadour and Hotel Café in Los Angeles, the Apollo Theater in New York, and Nashville’s Station Inn – present different award categories and encourage fans to listen to their music to support local associations.
Beyoncé received nine nominations in eight categories, more than any other artist. Swift and Lipa have each won six awards.
