IF YOU’RE such an ardent music fan that you simply have to watch this year’s Grammy Awards ceremony live, note that the channel you need to turn to is DStv’s Channel O, which is scheduled to air the popular American event live from 3am on Monday.
The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards telecast from Los Angeles will also be seen later on Monday, at 8.30pm, on M-Net.
Eminem will be one of the performers on the night, along with Grammy-winning rock legend Mick Jagger, who will perform live at the Grammys for the first time. Accompanied by Raphael Saadiq and his band, Jagger will perform as part of the telecast’s annual In Memoriam tribute, which pays homage to members of the music community who have passed away in the previous year.
Other performers will include current Grammy nominees Justin Bieber and Usher, as well as B.o.B, Bruno Mars, Janelle Monáe, Drake, Rihanna and a once-in-a-lifetime performance with Cee Lo Green, Gwyneth Paltrow and the Jim Henson Company Puppets. Also lined up to perform are Arcade Fire, Green, Lady Antebellum, Lady Gaga, Miranda Lambert, Muse and Katy Perry.
Current three-time nominee Dierks Bentley, nine-time winner and current nominee Norah Jones, singer/actor Selena Gomez and two-time Grammy-winner and actor LL Cool J, as well as current nominees Nicki Minaj and Blake Shelton, will appear as presenters.
Last year’s awards saw Lil Wayne leading the pack with eight nominations. This year the spotlight is on rapper Eminem with a field-leading 10 Grammy nominations for his Recovery album, which includes nods in all three top categories – Album, Record and Song of the Year.
Bruno Mars has seven nominations, while Jay-Z, Lady Antebellum and Lady Gaga each earned six nods. Jeff Beck, B.o.B, David Frost, Philip Lawrence, John Legend, Ari Levine and the Roots received five each. Four nominations apiece have been secured by Alex Da Kid, The Black Keys, Drake, Cee-Lo Green, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Dirk Sobotka and Zac Brown.
The Grammys are the only peer-presented awards to honour artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the US recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position.