Grammys tap Alicia Keys, Feist
R&B star Alicia Keys, country singer Brad Paisley and best new artist nominee Feist have been added to the slate of performers at next week's Grammy Awards. Additionally, the Recording Academy announced this morning that the telecast would feature a segment devoted to the Beatles, combining the casts of Cirque du Soleil's "Love" and the film "Across the Universe."
"Across the Universe" and "Love" will compete in the long-winded category of best compilation soundtrack album for motion picture, television or other visual media. In an interview last week, "Across the Universe" composer Elliot Goldenthal confessed to not having seen "Love."
"Since we were working so closely with the same composers, in terms of source material, I didn’t want to be influenced by it," he said.
He continued, "Being that everything the Beatles did was perfect, it’s easy to be influenced regarding details of the arrangements. I wanted to basically start from scratch, as if I were discovering those songs only on paper."
The high-profile Grammy pairing of "Across the Universe" and "Love" is not the only one. As previously noted, Rihanna will perform with reunited funk act the Time, and the Grammys will play host to a gospel segment with Aretha Franklin, Mary J. Blige and the Clark Sisters, among others. Finally, the Foo Fighters will team with Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones, who will conduct an orchestra comprised of contest winners, finalists of which were released today.
The Recording Academy also began releasing the names of presenters. Lined up so far is Latin star Juanes, as well as Cyndi Lauper, Bette Midler and Bonnie Raitt (courting the youth of America?).
Thus far, no much-rumored Michael Jackson appearance has been announced, although the inclusion of Feist (pictured), whose "1234" was one of 2007's most ubiquitous tunes, thanks to a commercial for an MP3 device, gives the telecast some much-needed, and much-welcomed, fresh blood. But with the telecast fast approaching, our hopes of at least one independent artist getting to perform are fading.
Ah well, maybe the Grammys can pair Feist with Yael Naim for a giant celebration of consumer electronics.
(Photo courtesy Associated Press)
The beatles should win in all the categories that they are nominated in because they really deserve it.
Posted by: juan aulet | January 31, 2008 at 07:15 PM