Rumors are flying around the internet that Britney Spears will appear on the Grammys. As you know, Spears released “Hold It Against Me,” the first single, to her March album yesterday and the world exploded. Well, not quite, but the song, which we reviewed here, shot to the top of iTunes download chart and set records for the number of radio spins, according to her label, Jive Records. In its first day, the song had close to 600 plays at Top 40 stations, thanks to some outlets, like LA”s KIIS, which debuted the track, banging it 18 times.
Let the rumors fly says the Recording Academy, The folks who put on the Grammys. They coyly told Hitfix, when asked about Spears” possible appearance, “Until a press release is issued by The Recording Academy, there are no performers or presenters confirmed.” When asked when the Academy will start putting out press releases about performers, the answer was “shortly.” Uh, thanks.
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Here”s our take on it: we understand completely that the Grammy Awards need the best ratings they can possible get, but most of the performances are, at least tangentially, tied to the nominations. To be sure, there are the salutes, like the one several years ago to the Clash”s Joe Strummer that allowed the Grammys to get Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen and Dave Grohl all on the same stage, or more recently, last year”s somewhat awkward tribute to Michael Jackson, but for the most part, the Grammys have a least pretended to not just pander to audiences by slotting in a hot name who has no other reason there but to boost ratings.
We fully expect-hope- that Lady Gaga will perform since she”s going to the very obvious length to release her new single, “Born This Way,” on Feb. 13, the same day as the Grammys. Someone please chime in if you”re ever heard of an artist releasing a single on a Sunday. But she”s also nominated for a number of Grammys, including album of the year. She gets to do whatever she wants.
As we mentioned, the Grammys will air on Feb. 13 live on CBS at 8 p.m. EDT.
Should performances be limited to nominated artists and their guests? What do you think?