Nominees and celebrated entertainers from the music, movie and television world are expected to pack the Staples Center in Los Angeles for Sunday’s (Feb. 8) 46th annual Grammy Awards.
The Grammy ceremony will air at 8 p.m. ET and PT (the tape will be delayed on the West Coast) in HDTV and 5.1 Surround Sound. It will also be broadcast worldwide on radio via Westwood One, and online at Grammy.com.
This year’s CBS telecast will once again feature a variety of presenters instead of the traditional celebrity host. Those scheduled to appear include previous Grammy-winner Beck, talk show host/comedian Ellen DeGeneres and the Oscar-nominated Samuel L. Jackson. Last year’s presenters Queen Latifah and B.B. King will return; other celebrities confirmed for the telecast include five-time Grammy winner and current nominee Madonna, Jack Black, Sarah Jessica Parker, Cuba Gooding Jr., five-time nominee Amy Lee of Evanescence, George Lopez and Marg Helgenberger of “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.”
OutKast and Beyonce — who, along with Pharrell Williams and Jay-Z, lead the nominations with six each — will perform during the ceremony. Also performing will be five-time nominees Justin Timberlake and 50 Cent.
The 40th anniversary of the Beatles’ 1964 appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” will be celebrated with a performance by Vince Gill, Dave Matthews, six-time nominee Pharrell Williams and MusiCares honoree Sting.
A special segment will be devoted to the music of Luther Vandross, with performances by Celine Dion, Alicia Keys and Richard Marx.
The late singer/songwriter Warren Zevon will be remembered with music by Jackson Browne, Emmylou Harris, the Eagles’ Timothy B. Schmit, Billy Bob Thornton, Dwight Yoakam and Jorge Calderon. Zevon is nominated for five Grammys, including song of the year and best male pop performance for “Keep Me in Your Heart.”
Also slated to perform during the three-and-a-half-hour show are Christina Aguilera, the Black Eyed Peas, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, Chick Corea, Earth, Wind & Fire, the Foo Fighters, Emmylou Harris, Martina McBride, Prince, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, Sean Paul and the White Stripes.
