AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
If you're planning to watch the Grammy Awards Sunday night, it may seem like it's all about the live singing and less about the trophies.
(SOUNDBITE OF 2010 GRAMMY AWARDS)
PINK: (Singing) It's only half past the point of oblivion...
CORNISH: The Grammy Awards have a track record for memorable performances. This is Pink from 2010 singing "Glitter In The Air" while she's in the air doing acrobatics way above the stage. And last year the buzz was all about this live performance...
(SOUNDBITE OF 2014 GRAMMY AWARDS)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Come on, Steve.
STEVIE WONDER: (Singing) The present has no ribbon. Your gift keeps on giving.
CORNISH: That's Steve, as in Stevie Wonder, Pharrell Williams and Daft Punk. Their version of the hit "Get Lucky" was much shared on social media the day after the "Grammy" broadcast. NPR's pop critic Ann Powers joins me now.
Welcome back, Ann.
ANN POWERS, BYLINE: Hey, Audie. How are you?
CORNISH: Good. So Ann, the live performances are always exciting, but sometimes they're totally cringe-worthy, frankly because the pairings of these artists don't quite make sense. Why perform together?
POWERS: There's a few reasons, Audie. One is to show you can do it, if you're a young artist. So for example, Hozier, the Irish singer-songwriter who had the big hit "Take Me To Church" is going to test his pipes against the great vocalist Annie Lennox. I hope he can rise to the occasion. Another reason is to show you are not going to stay in the slot that radio or fans would put you in. So, Ed Sheeran, another British singer-songwriter, is going to perform with both Electric Light Orchestra's showing his, I don't know, psychedelic Brit-pop side and then he's going to get on stage with Herbie Hancock, John Mayer and Questlove and jam out. So, prove your medal, I guess.
CORNISH: One grouping that is already drawing some controversy - Beyonce singing with John Legend and Common. Obviously all popular artists, but they're doing this song from the movie "Selma." And Beyonce was not actually on the vocal track for this movie originally, right?
POWERS: Yes, Audie. One of the greatest moments in the film "Selma" is when the R and B vocalist Ledisi, playing Mahalia Jackson, sings the great gospel hymn "Take My Hand, Precious Lord."
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "SELMA")
LEDISI: (As Mahalia Jackson, singing) Lead me on...
POWERS: Beyonce - I don't know, bigger draw, bigger marquee name? I'm not sure. But what I find most interesting, Audie, about this performance is it's sort of this strange crosstalk toward another award show. So "Selma" did not get all of the Oscar nominations that many people wish it had. So here we're featuring the song "Glory," which is nominated for an Academy Award, in the Grammys almost saying, hey, you Oscar people, you didn't get it right - we're going to get it right. It's really a very meta-textual moment.
CORNISH: But what's interesting about the Oscar conversation is that that's in the context of saying there aren't very many nominees of color across the board. I mean, that's not quite same with the Grammys, but you've written that there is a lot of conversation this year about white artists and so-called black music.
POWERS: Oh, yes, with Iggy Azalea, the white Australian rapper nominated for best rap album, Sam Smith predicted possibly to sweep the Grammys and his style is soul music in a lot of ways. So the live performances in a sense show the eclecticism, the range, and frankly, the color of pop music, whereas the awards themselves may not do so this year. That's kind of a mixed bag, but you know, I'm glad at least we'll be seeing the range of performers if they won't necessarily be honored.
CORNISH: That's NPR's pop critic Ann Powers.
Ann, thanks so much.
POWERS: Thank you so much.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GLORY")
JOHN LEGEND: (Singing) One day, when the glory comes it will be ours.
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