India.Arie, Patti LaBelle, Brian McKnight, More Added To Grammy Performers List
Newcomers and old-timers alike, from India.Arie to Patti LaBelle, will gather
for special performances at next week's Grammy Awards ceremony.
Arie, R&B singers Brian McKnight and Al Green, and gospel star Hezekiah
Walker will perform what the Recording Academy called Thursday (February 21) an
"inspirational segment" at the 44th annual awards show February 27 at
Staples Center in Los Angeles.
LaBelle, a two-time Grammy winner, will join Christina Aguilera, Pink, Lil'
Kim, Mya and Missy Elliott on "Lady Marmalade," a song she took to the top
of the charts in 1975 and the pop stars remade with massive success for last
year's "Moulin Rouge" soundtrack.
Also added to the premier music awards show is a duet between Billy Joel and
Tony Bennett on "New York State of Mind," a classic song that took on new
meaning after Joel performed it at the September 11 telethon "America: A
Tribute to Heroes." Joel and Bennett, who have won 14 Grammys between them,
are nominated this year for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for their
version of the song on Bennett's album Playin' With My Friends: Bennett
Sings the Blues.
Previously announced performers include U2, 'NSYNC with Nelly, Outkast,
Alicia Keys, Alejandro Sanz with Destiny's Child, Dave Matthews Band, Train,
Bob Dylan, Alan Jackson and a tribute to the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"
soundtrack (see [article id="1452450"]"Outkast, Dylan, 'Lady Marmalade' Ladies To Perform At
Grammys"[/article]).
Don Henley and Trisha Yearwood, together nominated for the Best Country
Collaboration with Vocals Grammy for "Inside Out," have been added to a list
of presenters that includes Britney Spears, Janet Jackson, Gwen Stefani, Ja
Rule, Kid Rock and others, according to the Recording Academy.
Arie is second only to U2 for most nominations with seven. The neo-soul
singer is the only artist competing in all four of the top categories: Album
of the Year, Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year (the
latter two for "Video").
McKnight will compete in five categories, including Best Male R&B Vocal
Performance and Best R&B Song for "Love of My Life" and Best Pop
Collaboration with Vocals for "My Kind of Girl" with Justin Timberlake.
Green will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, while Walker is nominated
for Best Gospel Choir or Chorus Album for Love Is Live!
Joel, a former Grammy Legend Award winner, will accept the 2002 MusiCares
Person of the Year award from the Recording Academy at a Los Angeles dinner
two nights before the Grammys. Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, Matchbox
Twenty's Rob Thomas and Nelly Furtado will perform in honor of Joel's
accomplishments as a musician and humanitarian.
Comedian Jon Stewart will host the Grammys, which will be broadcast on CBS
at 8 p.m.
For more Grammy news, check out the [article id="1469939"]MTV News Grammy Archive[/article].