LAS VEGAS, United States — Las Vegas will host the
Grammys for the
first time ever Sunday, one year after the coronavirus pandemic forced
organizers to shake up the broadcast with a cabaret-style show heavy on
performances.
اضافة اعلان
Music’s most prestigious awards ceremony comes with
the entertainment world on edge, just a week after a shocking twist at the
Oscars that saw Will Smith slap Chris Rock onstage over a bad joke.
The incident is sure to prompt stiffer stage
security and script vetting in Sin City, but there’s always a little room at
the Grammys for things to get... weird.
Here’s a guide to the event, which comedian Trevor
Noah will host:
Olivia Rodrigo sweep?
Two years after
Billie Eilish cleaned up the “big four” prizes — Album of the Year, Song of the Year,
Record of the Year and Best New Artist — viral pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo has
the chance to do it again.
The former
Disney channel actress — who posted
record-breaking streaming numbers last year during her explosive ascent to
pop’s upper echelons — has a total of seven nominations, including in all four
of the most prestigious categories.
Rodrigo, 19, is among a coterie of pop stars
including Justin Bieber and Doja Cat leading this year’s nomination pack.
The “drivers license” singer is also slated to
perform, as are a variety of acts including BTS, Billie Eilish, Lil Nas X,
H.E.R., and nominations frontrunner Jon Batiste.
Kanye antics
Kanye West, whose legal name
is now Ye, released an album both this year and last, but it’s his questionable
behavior that has made him music’s chaos agent at-large.
He scored five nominations this year, most for his
album “Donda” — and will face off with longtime nemesis Taylor Swift in the
best album category, where she has her sole 2022 chance at Grammys gold for
“evermore”.
Neither are necessarily favorites to win the coveted
prize.
But ever since West’s infamous “I’mma let you
finish” stunt at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2009 — when he walked onstage
and interrupted the then 19-year-old, who was accepting the award for Best
Female Video — all the world’s Ye’s stage.
For weeks, the mercurial West has been airing personal
attacks on comedian Pete Davidson, who is dating West’s ex-wife Kim Kardashian.
The Recording Academy had reportedly removed West
from the performance lineup over his sometimes troubling behavior, but some
sources said he could still join the lineup at the last minute.
And in any event, he’s still invited to the
ceremony. Even with seven-second broadcast delays and bleeps, if the Oscars
taught us anything, it is that anything can happen.
Will the Carters show?
When the Grammy hopefuls
were announced in November, rap mogul Jay Z became the most nominated artist in
the show’s history, with 83.
He was previously tied with legendary producer
Quincy Jones, who had 80.
At last year’s ceremony, Jay Z’s wife Beyonce became
the show’s most decorated singer in history, with 28 career wins.
So far, the rap billionaire from Brooklyn has 23
gramophones to his name.
But he’s never won in a major category, a similar
issue to Beyonce’s, who despite holding a Grammy record for most wins has only
triumphed once in the “big four” categories.
The Recording Academy faces perennial criticism that
it’s too white and too male, and that it relegates Black artists to rap and
R&B categories while refusing to reward them with the top prizes.
In 2018, Jay Z was the frontrunner with eight
nominations, but didn’t win a single award.
Needless to say, the couple skipped the 2019
ceremony — and took home a single award, for Best Urban Contemporary Album.
Whether Jay and Bey will deign to show up Sunday in
Vegas remains an open question.
Tony and Gaga
The perhaps improbable duo
of
Tony Bennett and
Lady Gaga are riding the success of their second duet album
“Love For Sale,” which earned six nominations.
It was the 61st and final studio album of Bennett’s
career.
In 2014, the now 95-year-old became the oldest
person ever to reach number one on the US album sales chart through a different
collection of duets with Gaga, who became his friend and touring companion.
The iconic crooner recently revealed he has been
diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, a condition he kept under wraps for years.
Bennett has stopped touring, but it’s not impossible
that he will appear Sunday at Gaga’s side.
The 36-year-old pop titan closed last week’s
Oscars ceremony alongside Liza Minnelli, another 20th century great Gaga has
apparently befriended.
Read more Entertainment
Jordan News