Grammys 2018: Everything you need to know about the biggest night in music

Who's going to take home Album of the Year? Will host James Corden entertain or annoy his audience? All the details ahead of Sunday 28 January

Roisin O'Connor
Friday 26 January 2018 20:50 GMT
Comments

The 60th Grammy Awards take place this Sunday 28 January, where some of the biggest artists in the world will attend the ceremony at Madison Square Garden in New York City - hoping they might take home a prize or two.

This is the first time in 15 years that the “biggest night in music” has been held in New York rather than LA.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and his office made a fierce pitch to bring it back to NYC, with estimates that the coup will bring $200 million in economic benefit to the city.

“Playing host to the music industry's marquee awards show is a unique creative, artistic and economic boon to the rich cultural fabric of our city,” de Blasio said.

“We welcome the Grammy Awards back to New York City with open arms and we look forward to continuing to partner with a music industry that supports access and empowerment in the arts.”

Here’s everything you know ahead of the big night:

What time is it?

Stars will begin arriving on the red carpet from 6.30pm ET (11.30pm UK time), and the ceremony kicks off at 7.30pm, on Sunday 28 January 2018.

How do I watch it?

The telecast will be broadcast live on CBS from 7:30pm – 11 pm ET (11.30pm - 2am UK time) - you can catch all the red carpet drama on E! from 6.30pm ET/11.30pm UK.

The 60th Annual Grammy Awards mark the 46th consecutive year that CBS has broadcast the show (the network has a deal to broadcast it until 2026).

Who is hosting?

James Corden will once again host proceedings. Organisers will be hoping he’s on his best behaviour after he was recorded making some misjudged jokes about Harvey Weinstein at a charity event in Hollywood late last year.

Amazon Music logo

Enjoy unlimited access to 70 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music

Sign up now for a 30-day free trial

Sign up
Amazon Music logo

Enjoy unlimited access to 70 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music

Sign up now for a 30-day free trial

Sign up

With so much scrutiny on the #TimesUp movement, and many artists expected to wear a white rose on the night in solidarity with the campaign, Corden will (hopefully) avoid any such gaffes this time round.

Who will present the awards?

This year's presenters are set to include Tony Bennett, Kelly Clarkson, Eve, Nick Jonas, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Hailee Steinfeld and Donnie Wahlberg.

Comedians Dave Chappelle, Jim Gaffigan, Sarah Silverman and Trevor Noah; actresses Katie Holmes and Anna Kendrick; and football player Victor Cruz, will also present at the show.

Who’s performing?

Sting, U2, Pink, Kesha, Sam Smith, Kendrick Lamar, Childish Gambino, SZA, Little Big Town and Lady Gaga are all slated to perform.

The Recording Academy has also revealed that several artists will team up for duets: Miley Cyrus and Elton John are going to perform together, as are Bruno Mars and Cardi B (likely for their hit remix of Mars’ song “Finesse”), and Emmylou Harris and Chris Stapleton.

The duo behind one of the biggest hits of 2017 (and all time) - Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee - are expected to take the stage with Zuleyka Rivera for a performance of “Despacito”. Fans can also expect a live appearance from Rihanna, Bryson Tiller and DJ Khaled, who collaborated on the Latin-influenced track “Wild Thoughts”.

Logic, Alessia Cara and Khalid’s joint performance will feature both suicide attempt survivors and suicide loss survivors, according to the Recording Academy. Their song “1-800-273-8255”, which aims to raise awareness of suicide prevention, is nominated for Song of the Year.

Are there special tributes planned?

The awards show will pay tribute to late musicians Chuck Berry and Fats Domino with a joint performance from Gary Clark Jr. and Jon Batiste of the band Stay Human.

Country music stars Maren Morris, Eric Church and Brothers Osborne will together pay tribute to victims who died at recent live music events, according to the Recording Academy.

Broadway singers Patti LuPone and Ben Platt will perform in honour of the show's return to New York City — and also as a tribute to Andrew Lloyd Webber and Leonard Bernstein, the latter of whom composed the music for West Side Story.

LuPone is set to sing “Don't Cry for Me Argentina” from “Evita,” whose music was written by Lloyd Webber.

Who is nominated?

You can see the full list of Grammy nominations here.

Who’s going to win?

Obviously we can’t predict anything for certain, but Jay Z and Kendrick Lamar - the most nominated artists of this year’s awards - both look like strong contenders for the Best Album, Best Song and Best Record awards.

Lamar has been snubbed for Album of the Year for two previous albums - Good Kid, M.A.A.D City and To Pimp A Butterfly - so it feels as though with DAMN., the most acclaimed album of 2017, he may finally get the accolade he deserves.

Khalid and SZA are both favourites for the Best New Artist gong.

We’ll be running live coverage of the Grammys on the night so keep an eye out for all the latest news and comment.

Follow Independent Culture on Facebook

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in