LeVar Burton will host Grammys’ pre-telecast premiere ceremony

Washington [US], March 26 (ANI): ‘Star Trek’ actor LeVar Burton is all set to host this year’s Grammys ‘premiere ceremony’, the pre-telecast afternoon event during which the vast majority of winners will be announced on April 3.
As per Variety, the Grammys-before-the-Grammys will get underway at the MGM Grand Conference Marquee Ballroom in Las Vegas at 12:30 pm PT/3:30 ET. The early unveiling of winners will be available for streaming on the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel as well as at live.grammy.com.
With fewer than 20 categories typically being announced on the air during the prime-time CBS telecast, that means more than three-quarters of the night’s 86 winners will likely be announced during the afternoon event.
The pre-telecast will open with a multi-nominee performance featuring Madison Cunningham, Falu, Nnenna Freelon, Kalani Pe’a, John Popper and the Isaacs.
Best new artist nominee Jimmie Allen and thrice-nominated Americana artist Allison Russell are among those set to lend a tune in the ballroom. Fellow nominees Ledisi, Mon Laferte and Curtis Stewart will perform as well.
The emphasis on current nominees in the ceremony’s newly announced lineup extends all the way to the host Burton, a previous winner, who is up again this year for the best spoken album, for ‘Aftermath’. He faces competition in the category from Barack Obama, Don Cheadle, J. Ivy and Dave Chappelle and Amir Sulaiman.
In a statement, Burton noted that the category he’s up in consists of exclusively Black authors and performers.
“I’m excited to host this celebration of the best performers across genres and art forms,” said Burton. “I am incredibly honoured in particular to be represented in the Best Spoken Word category this historic year, with a cohort of five other outstandingly talented Black men, along with the words of the late great Congressman John Lewis.”
The 64th annual Grammys will be broadcast live on April 3 on CBS and Paramount Plus from 8-11:30 pm ET/5-8:30 pm PT. (ANI)