"A fair amount of social commentary" will be incorporated into the performances, says Neil Portnow, president and CEO of the Recording Academy, which stages the event (CBS, live at 8 p.m. ET/tape-delay PT). "Different writers and artists have different points of view about issues and concerns. We like to elevate those thoughts and put them in context. ... It's appropriate for the Recording Academy to put a spotlight on what artists are thinking."
John Legend and Common will perform Glory, the Oscar-nominated and Golden Globe-winning song they crafted for the film Selma. Legend has said that Glory was inspired not only by the movie's subject of Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic civil-rights march but also by recent news events. The song mentions Ferguson, Mo., where protests broke out last year after a while police officer fatally shot a black man.
Several other numbers will be informed by "a sense of societal change," says Ken Ehrlich, the show's longtime executive producer. Katy Perry's performance of the emotional ballad By The Grace of God will be preceded by a "young woman survivor" of sexual abuse, he says. And there will be elements of commentary in Eric Church's My Hometown and even Pharrell Williams' Happy, "which may not seem as socially relevant — but you'll see what we've done with it."
A self-described "child of the '60s," Ehrlich senses "a return" to such consciousness among young artists. "I love sitting with people like Ed Sheeran, Katy and Beyonce and hearing them talk about their concerns for our world."
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Ehrlich notes that CBS, while supportive of that performance from the start, "was bracing for an onslaught of reaction, but it never surfaced. In fact, if I had to gauge the overall reaction, I'd say it was extremely positive. To me, it signaled a historical shift in our acceptance of equality." He adds, "It didn't hurt that everyone from Paul McCartney on was up on their cheering on these couples."
McCartney is scheduled to perform again on Sunday, with Rihanna and Kanye West. Portnow notes this year's show "may have the most musical performances in our history of the show. We're fighting physics here, trying to include as much music as we possibly can."
Other scheduled acts include AC/DC, Madonna and high-profile nominees such as Sam Smith, Sheeran, Ariana Grande, Miranda Lambert and Usher.
There will be the sort of eclectic, cross-generational collaborations fans of the show have come to expect, with Hozier joining Annie Lennox, Jessie J jamming with Tom Jones, Gwen Stefani teaming with Adam Levine and, naturally, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga — practically an old couple at his point — reaffirming their rapport. (All are nominees this year, except for Jones.)
Jessie J and Jones are due to perform a song by the classic hit-making duo Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, recipients of this year's Trustees Award. Ehrlich says the tribute will likely happen "kind of early in the show — it may be the first standing ovation of the night."
And Smith, nominated in all four of the top categories — album, record and song of the year, and best new artist — will "be performing with somebody else," though Ehrlich won't say who, stressing that the element of surprise is crucial.
"I think people watch other awards shows, often, to see the familiar," Ehrlich says. "But I believe a good segment of the people who watch the Grammys watch it because they don't know what they're going to see."
Original post found here: http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2015/02/05/grammy-awards-will-deliver-music-and-messages/22863885/
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