Yep, it’s that time of year again – Grammys time. The 59th annual Grammy Awards takes place on February 12 2017 in Los Angeles at the Staples Center, and the cream of music’s current crop will be there, in swanky suits and fancy frocks, to slap each other on the back, collect some shiny gongs and generally show-off. It will, as usual, be a delight. Here’s all you need to know about this year’s ceremony.
When is the Grammys 2017?
Sunday February 12, of course. The televised portion of the ceremony starts at 8pm LA time, meaning it’ll actually be a whole eight hours later here in the UK, which makes for a kick-off time of 4am. One for night owls and people who really, really love the Grammys then. The first part of the ceremony however, where they hand out the vast majority of the awards isn’t shown on telly, and actually takes place in a venue next door to the Staples Center – meaning if you’ve been nominated for a whole bunch of categories, you have to run from venue to venue without tripping over your gown.
Who is performing at the ceremony?
GettyAdele will be playing. Adele! How great is that?! Another excellent thing happening is The Weeknd, who’ll be playing live with Daft Punk – actual Daft Punk. Metallica, John Legend, plus country music stars Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban will all also perform live at the ceremony. Urban has received two nominations at this year’s awards, while Metallica and Underwood are each up for one award. Oh and despite being pregnant with twins, Beyonce is apparently performing too. Bruno Mars will also be taking part in the show. Sadly, a mooted Dave Grohl, Anderson .Paak and A Tribe Called Quest collaboration will not be happening, but all that other aceness will, so quit moping.
How can I watch the Grammys in the UK?
4Music will be broadcasting the ceremony, at 8pm on Monday February 13. Which is a day after the ceremony, so not ideal if you’re worried about finding out who wins before you watch. Best to lock yourself in a dark room for the day if you want to watch the show and still keep an element of surprise. Or you could do something illegal. Which we are definitely not recommending.
Who’s hosting?
GettyFor the first time, like, ever, a Brit is hosting the very American ceremony. After proving himself Stateside on late night telly, James Corden is taking over from LL Cool J, who was in charge of proceedings from 2012 until 2016. Previous hosts have included Frank Sinatra, Billy Crystal, Ellen Degeneres, John Denver and Kenny Rogers. Corden has already told the press what he’ll do if Kanye West tries to interrupt anyone’s speech again, like he’s done at previous awards bashes. “I don’t know that he would interrupt someone’s speech again. [If he does] I’ll take him down. He will hit the floor quicker than he has ever known,” he said. Well, we’ll see about that come Sunday, won’t we.
Who is nominated?
There are a very long list of Grammy Awards nominees, with Frank Ocean, Drake, Chance The Rapper, Alabama Shakes, Radiohead, Metallica and David Bowie all up for awards, but Beyoncé and Adele are leading the charge. Beyoncé has picked up nine nominations, including Album Of The Year for ‘Lemonade’ and Song Of The Year and Record Of The Year for lead single ‘Formation’. Her ‘Formation’ music video has also been shortlisted for Best Music Video. Adele is nominated five times, most notably for Album Of The Year, Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year. Record Of The Year recognises every aspect of a track (performance, production, mixing, etc), while Song Of The Year focuses solely on the songwriting.
How many Grammy Awards categories are there?
83. 8-freaking-3. At one point there were over 100, so as things stand currently, this is quite a trim offering. As well as all the biggies, Best Album etc, there are also some brilliantly strange gongs given out every year, including Best Surround Sound Album, Best Regional Roots Music Album, Best Contemporary Christian Music Album, Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album and Best New Age Album as well as the best Spoken Word Album, which has been won by three US President to date; Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.
Who’s this Sturgill Simpson bloke who’s been nominated for against?
GettyAh, Sturgill is a country music artist who does Nirvana covers and is beloved of the Nashville alternative country scene. We like him a lot. Hopefully you will too. Find out who the hell Sturgill Simpson is.