Grammy rehearsals 2010: Gonna get loud
Performers including Pink, Jamie Foxx and T-Pain are put through their paces in the lead-up to Sunday's extravaganza.
In this era of award show proliferation, it's hard not to smirk at the "once-in-a-lifetime" advertising campaigns for shows such as the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards on CBS Sunday night. Beyoncé is up for 10 Grammys this year and you have to suspect that back at the home, the trophy room is the most cluttered corner — well, except for the walk-in shoe closet.
Still, there is something about the scale, history and reach of the Grammys stage that stirs undeniable emotion in the artists who step on it for the first time. On Thursday, at rehearsals for the broadcast, that was clear in the voices of two artists, Zac Brown and Leon Russell, who are on opposite ends of their careers but will step into the spotlight together Sunday night to sing to the largest audience of their lives.
Brown is the 32-year-old leader of the Zac Brown Band, which is nominated in the prestigious best new artist category for its grits-and-guitar sound. Russell is the 67-year-old Oklahoma piano man who left a hospital bed last week and used a wheelchair to reach his keyboard on the Staples Center stage. "It's an honor," Russell said in a hushed voice backstage. "And it's one I never expected."
The acts were put together by Grammys executive producer Ken Ehrlich, who said despite the generational gap, their "music was born in the same barn." The haystack suits Brown's band, which aspires to be musical kin to the Charlie Daniels Band or the Allman Brothers; the group arrived for rehearsals in battered denim and belt buckles tested by their country-bear physiques, and sang their hit "Chicken Fried," an ode to America, its soldiers, cold beer and a mother's love.
"We never expected to be here," said Brown, whose wife is handling the band's show wardrobe and taking care of three daughters younger than 3. "It's a lot to take in. We're looking forward to the opportunity to show our musicianship."
Other scheduled performers are the Black Eyed Peas, Beyoncé, T-Pain and Jamie Foxx with Slash, Eminem teamed with both Lil Wayne and Travis Barker, Lady Antebellum and Green Day performing with cast members from the "American Idiot" stage production. Bon Jovi will perform a song to be determined by viewer votes. What number might steal the show?
Well, at Thursday's rehearsals, the most gripping performance was by Pink, who sang "Glitter in the Air" while suspended — spinning — from the Staples Center rafters with a trio of body-painted dancers who looked like gilded, hard-bodied angels. During the number, Pink wore an outfit that is little more than strategically placed bandages, and took a dip in a tub of water placed in the center of the venue.
"It's something she did during her tour and we loved it and brought it in for the show," Ehrlich said. "The song isn't a hit but it's a good song and she's happy to be doing something besides 'So What.' Going with the hit is the easy thing but it's not always the best thing."
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