Celebrity
Alicia Keys Announces She Will Host the Grammy Awards
Singer Alicia Keys will host the 61st annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 10, she announced on Tuesday in a celebratory video that emphasized the show as female-driven a year after the Grammys faced controversy over gender diversity. She will be the first woman to host in one a decade. Keys succeeds Previous host James Corden, who presided over the Grammys for the last two years and took over from LL Cool J, who hosted for five years beginning in 2012.
During the Grammys from 2006-2011 there was no host, the Grammys host is traditionally onscreen for about 15 minutes of a nearly four-hour show.
Alicia is a 15 time Grammy winner who has frequently performed on the show, and even though she is not a comedian she represents a straightforward choice and diversity.
In Keys’s announcement video, which is positioned as a series of candid clips seemingly shot on a cellphone, an unidentified voice tells her about the job offer, noting, “It’s going to be such an exciting show this year because of all the female artists and performers.”
Drake and Kendrick Lamar lead the field of nominees, but are followed by acts like Brandi Carlile, Janelle Monáe, Cardi B, H.E.R. and Kacey Musgraves, all of whom will compete for album of the year. The Recording Academy has yet to announce any performers for the show.