Grammys 2020: Everything You Need to Know About Music's Biggest Night
Attention music fans: Sunday night is set to be a jam-packed evening featuring stars at the height of their powers.
The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards are almost here, and fans are eager to see whether their favorite artists will walk away with the most coveted prizes in the music industry. With categories that celebrate work across every genre from pop and rap to country and hip-hop, the Grammys highlight the past year’s best songs and albums.
And, of course, the broadcast wouldn’t be complete without a few noteworthy performances along the way.
Here’s a complete guide to prime you ahead of the awards show:
Check out PEOPLE’s full Grammys coverage to get the latest news on music’s biggest night.
Who’s Hosting?
Last year, Alicia Keys proved that no one can host the Grammys quite like her.
The “Underdog” singer, 39, returns this year to repeat her emceeing duties, making her the third woman ever to host the show more than once. (Ellen DeGeneres hosted the Grammys in 1996 and 1997, and Rosie O’Donnell headlined in 1999 and 2000.)
“At first, I did think last year was a one-time thing, but when the opportunity came back around, there was no question about returning as host,” Keys said in a statement to Billboard in November.
The singer said it was a “powerful experience” hosting last year’s ceremony, which saw Michelle Obama make a surprise appearance alongside Keys at one point. Obama, 56, is nominated this year for best spoken word album for the audio version of her bestselling book Becoming.
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Who’s Nominated?
The crop of nominees this year features lots of fresh faces on the music field.
It’s a particularly momentous year for first-time nominee Lizzo, 31, who leads with a total of eight nominations, including record of the year and song of the year for “Truth Hurts,” album of the year for Cuz I Love You and best new artist.
Two other first-timers, Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X, follow closely behind with six nominations each. At 17 years old, Eilish (now 18) became the youngest nominee in Grammys history to be recognized in all four general field categories: record of the year, album of the year, song of the year and best new artist.
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Lil Nas X, 20 — who is this year’s leading male nominee — is nominated in the record of the year and pop duo/group performance categories for his smash hit “Old Town Road” remix featuring Billy Ray Cyrus.
With five nominations each are previous winners Ariana Grande and H.E.R. Beyoncé earned three nominations for her work on The Lion King soundtrack, as well as a nod in the best music film category for her Netflix doc, Homecoming.
Taylor Swift earned three nominations as well, including song of the year for “Lover,” best pop vocal album for Lover (the album) and best pop solo performance of “You Need to Calm Down.”
See the complete list of nominees here.
Who’s Performing?
Plenty of high-profile artists have been enlisted to ensure a can’t-miss slate of performances during the ceremony.
Acts like Lizzo, Eilish, H.E.R., the Jonas Brothers, John Legend, DJ Khaled, Camila Cabello, Tyler, The Creator, Aerosmith, Tanya Tucker and Brandi Carlile and more will take the stage on Sunday.
Perhaps the buzziest of the performances revealed for this year’s broadcast is the return of Demi Lovato, marking her first live performance since her drug overdose in July 2018.
Earlier this month, the “Sorry Not Sorry” singer, 27, — who also will sing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl next Sunday — announced that fans could catch her at the Grammys, one month after she posted a cryptic message saying, “The next time you hear from me, I’ll be singing….”
In what’s sure to be a romantic duet, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani will perform “Nobody But You” together, and pop star Ariana Grande recently confirmed she’ll be performing, one year after her public dispute with the Grammys producers last year.
Lil Nas X will be joined by Billy Ray Cyrus, BTS, Diplo, Mason Ramsey and more surprise guests for an all-star performance of “Old Town Road.”
The late Nipsey Hussle will be honored with a tribute performed by Kirk Franklin, DJ Khaled, John Legend, Meek Mill, Roddy Ricch and YG.
Meanwhile, drummer Sheila E. will take the stage with Usher and FKA twigs for a salute to Prince.
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Who’s Presenting?
Common, Ava DuVernay, Cynthia Erivo, Jim Gaffigan, Dua Lipa, Trevor Noah, Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Porter, Bebe Rexha, Smokey Robinson, Shania Twain, Keith Urban, and Stevie Wonder are among those handing out the evening’s awards.
How Do I Watch the Pre-Show?
PeopleTV’s PEOPLE Now host Jeremy Parsons, PEOPLE Senior Editor Janine Rubenstein and Entertainment Weekly Senior News Editor Gerrad Hall are co-hosting a live red carpet pre-show ahead of the awards ceremony. Catch the full livestream above at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT or on PEOPLE’s Facebook and Twitter pages. You can also watch on the PeopleTV app, available on all of your favorite streaming devices.
Additional coverage will begin on E! with a countdown special at 4 p.m. and, at 6 p.m., E! Live From the Red Carpet with hosts Ryan Seacrest and Giuliana Rancic.
The official red carpet proceedings begin at 7 p.m. ET on CBS. The Recording Academy and CBS will live-stream the Grammys Live from the Red Carpet pre-show exclusively on Twitter at 5:00 p.m. Also, follow along with other viewers with the hashtag, #GRAMMYs.
How Do I Watch the Awards?
The 2020 Grammys will be broadcast live on CBS and CBS All Access from the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Jan. 26 at 8 p.m. ET. The primetime streaming service is available as an app on devices like the Fire TV, Roku, Hulu + Live TV, Xbox One, Apple TV, PlayStation Vue, and YouTube TV.
