“Music’s Biggest Night” is upon us and for the first time since 2020, the Grammy Awards ceremony seems to officially be home. The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony that year was held at the Staples Center, now known as Crypto.com Arena, in Los Angeles where it has called home since 2000 with the exception of the 2003 and 2018 editions held at Madison Square Garden in New York City as well as the last two years that took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center and MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
With the pandemic in our rear view mirror, award shows have returned to their glamorous, decadent, and self-indulging ways. The Grammy Awards will be no different once all of the lights and cameras are on inside the arena, and to get you ready for the big show, here are 5 things to watch for during tonight’s telecast.
1. And the winner is….Beyoncé
The Queen Bey is nominated for nine awards this year – that gives her a tying record of 88 lifetime nominations. The former Destiny Child star is tied with her husband Jay-Z for the most nominations ever. She has the most wins by a performing artist with 28, and with 3 or more wins tonight, could tie or move ahead of classical conductor Georg Solti, who sits with a record 31 Grammy wins.
2. Trevor Noah is back
The former Daily Show host returns to host the Grammy Awards for the third consecutive year. The 2020 Best Comedy Album nominee is set to kickoff his Off the Record Tour next week that will bring him to Memphis and Nashville in the first week of May, but has been hard at work for the last two months preparing for his hosting duties.
The thing to watch the most about Trevor hosting the show will be his opening monologue. Every great talk show host is surrounded by extraordinary writers that help piece together all of the day’s big talking points into a cohesive and funny monologue and the South African comedian is no different. The question is what topics will be on the dart board and if any are off limits. The Chinese spy balloon will be an easier target tonight than it was for the US military. Trevor loves to whip out his Donald Trump impressions, so one has to believe we will hear that once or twice during the show. Noah also knows that it is not his show and he is simply there to service the audience as he told Billboard magazine late last year, “I’ll go wherever the jokes take me. But I’m always aware that I am there in service of the show. This is not my show, nor do I try to pretend that it is. A good host is somebody who keeps the show moving in the right direction, makes sure that they bring the audience into what’s happening, engages and entertains everybody who’s in the room and really turns it into a party.”
3. Is there an EGOT in the house?
For those that are not an award show snob like myself, you may not be aware of what an EGOT is. An EGOT winner is one who has won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony award throughout their career. Composer, producer was the first person to win each award in 1962. It only took Rodgers 17 years to complete his EGOT and the longest it has taken someone to achieve it is 45 years. Actress Helen Hayes won her first leg in 1932 when she brought home the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her work in The Sin of Madelon Claudet and did not complete all four until she secured her Grammy for Best Spoken Word Recording in 1977.
Since 2018, five artist have gained EGOT status. Broadway royalty Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice both completed theirs in 2018 as did singer John Legend who record his in the shortest time ever at 12 years. Composer Alan Merkin joined the club in 2020 and American Idol star Jennifer Hudson wrapped her’s up in 2021.
Actress Viola Davis looks to join this prestigious company this year as she is the Grammy Award away form completing her EGOT. She is already in legendary status as a thespian, as she is the only African American to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting. She completed that trifecta with her Oscar, Emmy Award and two Tony Awards. That leaves her going into tonight’s festivities needing to win the Grammy for Best Audio Book, Narration and Storytelling Recording. She was nominated for her memoir Finding Me.
In order to complete such an impressive feat, she has to defeat some fierce competition. She faces off in the category against Lin-Manuel Miranda, who is only an Oscar away from his EGOT. He is nominated for his work on the audio book of the New York Times Bestseller Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World. Oscar and Grammy winner Jamie Foxx is nominated for his candid book about raising two daughters. Another Oscar and Grammy winner has their sights on the award as well. Bandleader for the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Questlove, is seeking to add to his Grammy mantle by bringing one home for his musical history book Music is History.
Davis’ biggest competition without doubt comes in the form of EGOT winner Mel Brooks. Brooks completed his EGOT in 2001 just shy of his 75th birthday and 22 years later as he closes in on his 97th birthday he looks to capture a win for his New York Times Bestselling autobiography All About Me! My Remarkable Life in Show Business.
If she is able to have her named called as the winner, she will join Whoopi Goldberg, John Legend, and Jennifer Hudson as the only African American winners of the EGOT. There is controversy in the EGOT world surrounding other names considered to have completed the feat. James Earl Jones was awarded a non-competitive Tony in 2017, Harry Belafonte was given a Humanitarian Oscar in 2014 as was Quincy Jones ten years prior. Many believe since those EGOTs were given rather than through nomination, that they are not true member of the EGOT club.
4. Hip Hop at 50
The Grammy Awards show has become synonymous with surprise moments at award shows and this year should be no different. This year, they set out to pay tribute to the musical genre of hip hop as it celebrates 50th anniversary. The segment is being produced by Questlove as his band the Roots will provide the music and fellow band mate Black Thought will narrate. Five time Grammy host and hip hop icon LL Cool J will introduce the segment and will be joined on stage by a who’s who of rap royalty.
Sharing the stage will be Big Boi, Busta Rhymes with Spliff Star, De La Soul, DJ Drama, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Missy Elliott, Future, GloRilla, Grandmaster Flash, Grandmaster Mele Mel & Scorpio/Ethiopian King, Ice-T, Lil Baby, Lil Wayne, The Lox, Method Man, Nelly, Public Enemy, Queen Latifah, Rahiem, Rakim, RUN-DMC, Salt-N-Pepa and Spinderella, Scarface, Swizz Beatz and Too $hort.
One can only think of what other surprises the segment may bring because as many legends are listed to perform, there’s that many more missing.
5. Tennessee at the Grammy’s
The Volunteer State is well represented this year at the Grammy’s. Most notable is Memphis rapper GloRilla who is nominated for Best Rap Performance for her song “F.N.F. (Let’s Go).” She is joined by Memphis born or based Grammy nominees Charlie Musselwhite (Best Traditional Blues Album), Eric Gales (Best Contemporary Blues Album), and the North Mississippi All Stars (Best Contemporary Blues Album). The Elvis movie is nominated for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media. Memphis producer HitKidd is nominated along with GloRilla while rapper Moneybagg Yo and engineer Ari Morris are part of the Album of the Year nomination for Mary J. Blige.
Nashville is well represented this year as it is every year. Tennessee State University is nominated for Best Roots Gospel Album. Multiple Middle Tennessee State University graduates are looking to bring gold home on Sunday. Rob Williford who is nominated for his writing on Luke Combs’ Best Country Song nominee “Doin’ This.” Aaron Raitiere is also nominated for songwriting through their work on Ashley McBryde’s Best Country Album nomination. Grammy winning MTSU grad Brandon Bell earned multiple nominations for his work on Brandi Carlile’s In These Silent Days.
The 65th Annual Grammy Awards telecast should be all of the talk at the water cooler tomorrow and can be watched on CBS and Paramount+ Sunday night at 7:00 central.
Steven McCash is the Lead Music Writer and Utility Man for SoBros Network. Steven is the host of the ‘Drinking With…’ podcast, and the pioneer of New Music Friday, highlighting each week’s new releases in the world of music in addition to the occasional live show review. He also pitches in as a Nashville lifestyle writer and football analyst (hence the ‘Utility Man’ title). Follow on Twitter: @MC_Cash75
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