NEAR TRUTHS: ACTION

With the Grammys about to experience the vagaries of Vegas, wonderers are wondering how the CBS show will come off. Given the able crew of Jack Sussman, Ben Winston, Raj Kapoor and Jesse Collins at the helm, morale is high among industry folk that this will be a solid show that balances the requisite considerations—and that the team will create a superior event with much of the same talent that also appears on lamefests like the Billboard Music Awards and American Music Awards, where just showing up earns you a trophy.

As for how much longer network TV will invest huge sums in music awards shows that hand hardware to young acts unknown to the core viewership of those awards shows, well, that remains to be seen.

If you wanted to boost Grammy ratings through talent selection, there are very few headliners who could be depended on to juice viewership; fans would tune in to see Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Adele, Ye, Bruno Mars et al. perform (though a reliable source is adamant that Adele won’t be there). Some of the aforementioned are nominees. But is there a rule that one must be nominated to perform? Or is that more of a guideline employed by Grammy when it doesn’t want someone on the stage?

We might add that two of the biggest acts of the streaming era, Drake and The Weeknd, are boycotting Music’s Biggest Night, having been kneecapped by the Grammys and, like Ed Sheeran and Justin Timberlake, deprived of the top-shelf noms they deserved.

Meanwhile, how will Grammy put the TV spotlight on its most-nominated artist, Jon Batiste? As the gifted pianist and composer came to prominence as the bandleader on Late Night With Stephen Colbert—accompanying every kind of musical guest imaginable—the possibilities are intriguing.