EW.com talked to Jack Sussman, CBS’ exec VP of specials and live events, about the last-minute cancellation by Rihanna and Chris Brown, what was up with Justin Timberlake and Al Green, whether the show was ready in case M.I.A. gave birth on stage, and more. Here’s the scoop.
When did you learn that Rihanna and Chris Brown weren’t going to make it?
The Grammy production team was knee deep in rehearsals at the Staples Center when they first got the call between 1:30 and 2 p.m. Sunday about the no-shows (Rihanna was supposed to immediately follow U2 with a medley of "Disturbia" and "Live Your Life" while Brown was going to sing "Forever" before Kid Rock’s performance). "Beyond thinking, I hope they’re okay, it immediately goes out of your mind because you’re too busy thinking about what to do next," says Sussman. Justin Timberlake had just finished rehearsing his duet with T.I. when the team approached him in his dressing room about filling Rihanna’s spot with a brand new act. “Justin’s first words were, ‘what can I do to help?’” recalls Sussman. “That’s what you want to hear.” It was Timberlake’s idea to perform with Al Green, since the two Memphis natives had once performed "Let’s Stay Together" — and Green was already in town to present an award with Duffy. The veteran crooner was literally in his hotel bathtub when he got the call to rush to rehearsals, where he and Timberlake had less than two hours to prepare (Brown’s performance was not replaced).
Was it true you had a gurney waiting on the side of the stage while M.I.A., who is set to give birth any day now, was performing?
“She went into contractions when the show went on the air and she was not supposed to go on until act 8!” says Sussman. “I asked her to just hang on until 10 ET. The kid’s a gamer…and by the way, the gurney is always there. Every once in a while, someone falls.”
Why didn’t Whitney Houston perform?
“We only talked about her being a presenter,” says Sussman.
Did we hear Kanye West correctly? Did Bob Newhart win a Grammy for best new artist?
Yes, the running tally is: Newhart, one Best New Artist Grammy, Kanye West, none. Newhart won for "The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart" in 1960. West has won several Grammys, including Best Rap Album, but never Best New Artist.
Why so much rap and country in the show?
“I called it my musical sardine can,” says Sussman. “You want to make the show embraceable for lots of people, not just niche audiences. We’re a broadcast network TV show, not a narrow-cast cable music show.”
Did you cut categories to make room for more music? For instance, Katy Perry performed "I Kissed a Girl" but her category — Best Female Pop Vocal Performance — didn’t air.
"Every year it’s different," Sussman said. "Outside of the four or five major awards, the other awards change every year. And performing is better than actually having your category on air. People won’t remember who won best R&B album, but they will remember Jennifer Hudson’s performance.”
Was there an unprecedented number of acts?
Yes, says Sussman — 24 in total!
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Props to Al Green, Justin Timberlake, Keith Urban, & Boyz II Men for doing an amazing job on their performances, w/ only a small amount of time to do so.
M.I.A. was the highlight of the show for me, I wish she’d have performed the whole song though.
they should have just cut the telecast short instead of filling in the missing princess riri spot. that show went over by half an hour
My burning question is how did cracked out but gorgeous Whitney manage to stand up through her sppech. even J Hud was scared to get tooo close.
the grammys were absolutely BRILLIANT this year, i mean all of the performances were good, here were my three favorite performances:
1. radiohead with the USC marching band, it was such a good collaboration, loved the performance
2. swagga like us feat the “rap pack” these guys did a great job, and MIA held her own
3. coldplay, they just did an excellent job showing why they are so damn good
I agree with BOSTON – props to them all. And considering how many performances we got to see, this was the first time I truly didn’t mind an awards show running over time-wise. It was well worth it.
I listened to the jack sussman interview over at ryan seacrests radio station website and real props go out to justin timberlake for what he did to make that performance happen. The show didn’t run over. It was scheduled to go from 8pm to 11:30 pm est. It ended right on time kris.
Why no ROCK? Sure there was pop with Coldplay and Radiohead, and tons of rap and country. But besides U2, why no true rock? Dave Grohl with Macca was as close as we got!
This is why EW.com is the best website… the best Grammy’s coverage on the internet. Thanks EW, very very interesting.
I loved the Grammy’s stage this year.. it was interesting but not too crazy/MTV fans everywhere. My one complaint: WHO is asking Kid Rock to perform at award shows? Ugh, he’s so awful.
U2 was fantastic as always….the greatest band in the land!!
For a change, it was a good show. Not too many crazy celebs and performers. It was nice to see McCartny, Diamond and some other older acts. A HUGE congratulations to Jennifer Hudson on her Grammy win and performance. Good to have you back! Same for Whitney Houston. Looking good Girl!
I was looking forward to Rihanna’s performance, so I’m a little disappointed. I still don’t get why they needed to bother replacing it though, even though JT, Al Green, and the rest were great. No one would have known that wasn’t planned!
Bill – did you just say that Radiohead was ‘pop’?
Very cool of JT to immediately ask how he can help. He’s a class act, and that performance was awesome!
Poor M.I.A. going into contractions (and lol)! But shouldn’t they have reshuffled her act into the beginning just in case? D’oh!