Thursday, February 2, 2012
Springsteen to Perform on Telecast, Dedicated Pandora Stations Created, Allmans to Get Lifetime Achievement Award
Grammy news is pouring out of the
Recording Academy this morning, topped off by the announcement that
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have been added to the lineup of performers. The Boss and his posse join the previously announced
Jason Aldean and
Kelly Clarkson,
Glen Campbell with
Blake Shelton and
The Band Perry,
Coldplay and
Rihanna,
Foo Fighters,
Bruno Mars,
Paul McCartney,
Nicki Minaj,
Katy Perry and
Taylor Swift.
Just added to the list of presenters are
Jack Black,
Fergie,
Amir "?uestlove" Thompson of the
Roots and
Ringo Starr, following yesterday’s additions of
Dierks Bentley,
Drake,
Miranda Lambert, and
Gwyneth Paltrow.
In other news,
Pandora, the Academy
and sponsor
Pepsi have announced an original content video series (
www.pandora.com/pepsigrammyvideo) showcasing Best New Artist nominees
The Band Perry,
Bon Iver, J. Cole,
Nicki Minaj and
Skrillex and including exclusive interviews. The wrinkle here is the creation of Pandora Grammy genre stations (
http://pandora.com/genres/grammys) based on official Grammy categories: Country, Pop and Dance, Rock and Alternative, Rap, R&B, Gospel and Contemporary Christian, Latin, Jazz, World and Reggae, American Roots, Classical and Comedy.
On top of that, a Grammy “mixtape” gathering songs from nominees and newcomers in various categories can be found at
www.pandora.com/pepsigrammymusic.
Said Pandora Chief Marketing Officer
Simon Fleming-Wood, “We're excited to celebrate this year's Grammy Awards by giving Pandora listeners access to their favorite Grammy-nominated artists and helping them discover great new music through our Grammy genre stations."
Added
Evan Greene, the Academy’s Chief Marketing Officer, "To commemorate the excitement for Music's Biggest Night with the launch of a dozen Grammy genre stations and the first-ever Best New Artist video series is exciting. We were pleased to extend this innovative program to Pandora users through our partnership with Pepsi."
Finally, on Grammy Eve (2/11), the Academy will host its
Special Merit Awards Ceremony, presenting
Lifetime Achievement Awards to the
Allman Brothers Band,
Glen Campbell,
Antonio Carlos Jobim,
George Jones, the
Memphis Horns,
Diana Ross and, posthumously, to
Gil Scott-Heron. The point of intrigue here is that if every invited member of the Allmans shows up, it’ll be the first time
Dickey Betts has been seen in public with fellow original members
Gregg Allman,
Butch Trucks and
Jaimoe since being kicked out of the band in 2000.
Trustees Awards (in recognition of outstanding contributions to the industry in areas other than performance) will be given to New Orleans writer/producer
Dave Bartholomew, the late
Steve Jobs and engineer
Rudy Van Gelder; and the
Technical Grammy to software company
Celemony and
Steely Dan engineer
Roger Nichols. Best of all,
Neil Portnow will be there. The event will take place at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre from 3-5 p.m.