Katy Perry, John Legend and more added to Grammys performance roster
LOS ANGELES -- Katy Perry is returning to the Grammy Awards to the delight of fans who have been waiting to hear new music from the pop singer whose last album, “Prism,” came out in 2013.
The Recording Academy also announced Tuesday that Grammy nominees Kelsea Ballerini and Lukas Graham will perform Sunday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The show will air on CBS at 8 p.m. Eastern.
Grammy nominee Demi Lovato, Andra Day, Tori Kelly and country group Little Big Town will collaborate on a performance honoring the music of the Bee Gees and the 40th anniversary of “Saturday Night Fever.”
Previously announced performers include Adele, Bruno Mars, the Weeknd, Daft Punk, A Tribe Called Quest and Alicia Keys.
Also performing at Sunday’s ceremony will be John Legend and Broadway star Cynthia Erivo, who will be singing a new arrangement of the Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows” during the In Memoriam segment, executive producer Ken Ehrlich announced Tuesday.
“I heard that song for the first time in the context of loss -- not lost love, but in the context of what would I be without you, someone who’s gone?” Ehrlich said. “I played it again, and then I played it again. And then when I wiped away the tear -- which seriously I had -- I said, ‘This is what we need to do this year. This is the song.’”
Ehrlich imagined a slower version for In Memoriam, which he quickly arranged on piano, then tapped Legend and Erivo to perform it.
“They both sparked to it and said yes,” he said. “It’s not a song that’s written by someone who is in the In Memoriam segment, but it’s about it, and it really resonates.”
