Image Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
The Grammys really want you to watch their show on Sunday. And they’re doing it by throwing as many performers as humanly possible onstage — many of them at the same time.
This afternoon, the producers announced that the long-dormant, recently reconstituted surviving members of the Beach Boys — Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston, and David Marks — would be making their return to the stage at the show for their first performance together in roughly two decades.
In a confounding bit of casting, they’ll join “Pumped Up Kicks” hitmakers Foster the People and “Moves Like Jagger” juggernaut Maroon 5 for a never-before, never-again collaboration that has the potential to be both a blissfully memorable celebration of great music or a complete and utter train wreck. (On a side note: This is totally the performance the Grammys wanted Bon Iver to be a part of, right?)
Also on the Grammys performance roster this year? The Civil Wars, Maceo Parker, Diana Krall, and Joe Walsh. For those of you keeping track, the current performance lineup looks like this: Adele; Tony Bennett and Carrie Underwood; Glen Campbell, the Band Perry, and Blake Shelton; Coldplay and Rihanna; Foo Fighters, deadmau5, David Guetta, Chris Brown, and Lil Wayne in a tribute to dance music; Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson; Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt paying homage to Etta James; Bruno Mars; Paul McCartney; Nicki Minaj; Katy Perry; Bruce Springsteen; and Taylor Swift.
It was unclear whether or not the Civil Wars, Parker, Krall, and Walsh would be performing together (though that quartet doesn’t make any sense at all, for what it’s worth), but even if they are, that’s a conservative grand total of 15 performances over the course of Sunday night’s show. Last year’s version of the Grammys featured 17, and there’s still time for some surprises.
Adele’s performance is undoubtedly the most hotly anticipated and the most important, as it will be the first time the world has heard her since her vocal cord surgery. But the biggest headline-grabbers from last year were the tributes and collaborations, so let’s dive into those, shall we? READ FULL STORY »
Unlike many of their come-from-nowhere cohorts, Foster the People didn’t get big thanks to a viral-ready music video — their “Pumped Up Kicks” got to the upper echelon of the Billboard Hot 100 via word of mouth, radio play, and a commitment to playing the heck out of it in concert.
