By Maria Sherman in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The 2024 Grammy Awards are fast approaching — and it is never too early to plan your viewing experience.
The 66th Grammy Awards will take place Sunday at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Most of the awards are handed out before that during the Premiere Ceremony, which the Recording Academy will stream live ahead of the telecast, which starts at 8 p.m. Eastern.
Here’s what you need to know about the awards, including how to stream and where you can see music’s biggest stars walking the red carpet.
WHO'S HOSTING THE GRAMMYS?
The Grammy-nominated comedian Trevor Noah will once again host, marking his fourth consecutive year on the job.
Noah himself is up for a Grammy this year, receiving his second nomination for best comedy album.
He also recently won an Emmy, with his final season of “The Daily Show" taking home the award for outstanding talk series at the Jan. 15 show.
Trevor Noah: AP Photo by Ashley Landis
HOW CAN I WATCH THE GRAMMYS?
The main show will air live on CBS and Paramount+ beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern. Paramount+ with Showtime subscribers can watch live and on demand. Paramount+ Essential subscribers won't be able to stream the ceremony until the next day.
The Grammys can also be watched through live TV streaming services that include CBS in their lineup, like Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV and FuboTV.
WHO'S NOMINATED THIS YEAR?
SZA enters the Grammys with a leading nine nominations. “Kill Bill,” a revenge anthem cloaked in an R&B ballad, earned her nods for record of the year, song of the year, and best R&B performance. “SOS” is also up for album of the year and best progressive R&B album. The 2024 ceremony is the second time SZA has been nominated for record, album, and song in the same year.
Victoria Monét and Phoebe Bridgers have the second-most nominations, with seven. Six of Bridgers' nods are with her band boygenius. Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish, Brandy Clark, Jon Batiste and producer Jack Antonoff also earned six.
Monét is the only leading nominee also up for best new artist, in a category that is rounded out by Gracie Abrams, Fred again.., Ice Spice, Jelly Roll, Coco Jones, Noah Kahan and The War and Treaty.
WHO IS PERFORMING?
SZA is among the most recent Grammy performers announced, along with the first ever Grammys performance from Joni Mitchell. The 80-year-old folk-rock legend's surprise live show at the 2022 Newport Folk Festival, her first full concert in 20 years, led to a release that is nominated for best folk album. Mitchell has won nine Grammys and a lifetime achievement award from the music academy, and many fans expected to never see her perform again after she had an aneurysm and other health complications in 2015.
Performers previously announced include Grammy winners and current nominees Eilish, Rodrigo, Dua Lipa, Burna Boy, Luke Combs, and Travis Scott.
Billy Joel, a five-time Grammy award winner and 23-time nominee, will also perform.
Eilish has seven Grammys and is up for six this year. Lipa and Rodrigo both have three Grammys; Lipa is nominated for two awards and Rodrigo is nominated for six.
Both Scott and Combs may become first-time winners; Scott has 10 career nominations to his name, while Combs has seven. Burna Boy won the award for best global music album in 2021 for “Twice As Tall”; he also has 10 career nominations.
HOW CAN I WATCH THE RED CARPET?
E! will broadcast its “Live from the Grammys Carpet” show, with a mix of fashion coverage and celebrity interviews.
The Associated Press will also stream a three-hour red carpet show with interviews and fashion footage. It will be streamed on YouTube, Twitter and the AP's website.
WHAT'S NEW WITH THE GRAMMYS IN 2024?
In June, the Recording Academy announced that the Grammys would add three new categories: best pop dance recording, best African music performance and best alternative jazz album.
The best African music performance category will highlight “regional melodic, harmonic and rhythmic musical traditions,” according to a Recording Academy press release, including genres like Afrobeat, Afro-fusion, Afro Pop, Afro-House, South African Hip-Hop, and Ethio Jazz. Before the addition, those artists would compete in the best global music performance category, first introduced in 2022.
Another notable change: The Academy announced “only human creators” could win the music industry’s highest honor in a decision aimed at the use of artificial intelligence in popular music.
“Here’s the super easy, headline statement: AI, or music that contains AI-created elements is absolutely eligible for entry and for consideration for Grammy nomination. Period,” Recording Academy CEO and President Harvey Mason jr. told the AP at the time. “What’s not going to happen is we are not going to give a Grammy or Grammy nomination to the AI portion.”
Feature image of SZA from Associated Press by John Locher
