The Recording Academy has unveiled the first round of performers for the 65th Grammy Awards.
Mary J. Blige, Steve Lacy and Lizzo will grace the stage live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. Additional performers include Bad Bunny, Brandi Carlile, Luke Combs, Kim Petras and Sam Smith.
Blige last performed at the Grammys in 2015 with Smith. They performed a duet rendition of Smith’s hit single “Stay With Me.” Blige’s last solo performance at the Grammys was in 2007, where she delivered a stirring performance of her smash hit “Be Without You” from The Breakthrough.
Blige is nominated for six Grammys, the second-most nods this year, including Album of the Year (Good Morning Gorgeous – Deluxe), Best R&B Performance (“Here With Me“), Best Traditional R&B Performance (“Good Morning Gorgeous”), Best R&B Song (“Good Morning Gorgeous”), and Best R&B Album (Good Morning Gorgeous – Deluxe).
Blige’s Album of the Year nod is her first nomination as a lead artist in that category. She scored an Album of the Year nomination in 2014 for contributing to Kendrick Lamar’s major label debut album, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City. Blige was also nominated for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for Lamar’s “Now Or Never,” lifted from the same album.
Circling back to Good Morning Gorgeous, the album was released Feb. 11, 2022, two days before her Emmy-winning Super Bowl Halftime Show performance alongside Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and Kendrick Lamar. The album features Usher, Anderson .Paak (“Here With Me”), DJ Khaled, Dave East, Fivio Foreign and more.
On May 6, 2022, Blige released a deluxe edition of Good Morning Gorgeous. The extended version includes her “Good Morning Gorgeous (Remix)” with H.E.R., who co-wrote the original song with Lucky Daye, Tiara Thomas and D’Mile. Additionally, it features Ne-Yo, Jadakiss, Fabolous, Remy Ma and more.
Blige supported the album on her headlining Good Morning Gorgeous Tour with special guests Ella Mai and Queen Naija.
Lacy is nominated for four Grammys this year. His Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper “Bad Habit” is up for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Pop Solo Performance. His sophomore album, Gemini Rights, is nominated for Best Progressive R&B Album.
Released on July 15, 2022, Gemini Rights debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 with 34,000 equivalent units sold in the first week. In fall 2022, Lacy launched his headlining Give You the World Tour to promote Gemini Rights.
Hosted by Trevor Noah, the 65th Grammy Awards will air live Sunday, Feb. 5, at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on CBS and stream live and be on demand on Paramount+.
