Superstars often open the show like Prince and Beyonce. Other memorable acts have included Sting and the Police; Madonna and the gorillaz; Ricky Martin; and alicia keys with the late Frank Sinatra.
One would think such lightning-in-a-bottle Grammy openers are the brainchildren of savvy music managers and record label execs who lean on the show's producers. After all, an artist's Grammy performance translates into an immediate bump in record sales -- something akin to cold spring water in an industry that's been parched by online music sharing.
Yet when it comes to jumpstarting the Grammys, the labels nowadays have nothing to do with it.
“It all comes out of Ken Ehrlich's head," vouches the show's talent exec, Renato Basile, about the Grammys' executive producer, who is in his 29th year running the kudocast.
Music insiders contend there was a time in the early '90s when the major labels, especially those that controlled most of the Grammy-nominated talent, would attempt to leave their fingerprints on the Grammy lineup. As the industry has buckled, however, the suits have lost their sway. In fact, record labels shy away from the subject of their involvement with the kudocast simply because it's Ehrlich's show.
“When Beyonce and Prince performed together in 2004, it was Ken who made a phone call to them," Basile says. In staging the Prince/Beyonce duet of his “Purple Rain" and her “Crazy in Love," “Prince laid out beat-by-beat what he wanted to do," Ehrlich says.
While the opening act is typically not the highest-rated segment of the Grammycast, it may be viewed as the hook that reels viewers in. It's also the benchmark for the night's other performers to top. This year nominees such as Coldplay, Katy Perry, Paul McCartney, the Jonas Brothers and Radiohead are skedded to take the stage. But the opening act is always kept under wraps.
“Our agenda is to kick off the show and to create those watercooler moments," Ehrlich says. “The Grammys is always about the family of music, and you want to take artists who typically don't tour together and create a moment."
Ehrlich and Basile contend they don't have any rules when it comes to their Grammy lineups. But they will typically lead with a musical icon, such as Madonna, who has opened for the show three times since 1999. Fresh acts like the virtual band Gorillaz are typically paired with an icon, as was the case in 2006 when that band's song “Feel Good Inc." was grouped with Madonna's “Hung Up."
“If there is a pattern, it's that I keep thinking about the live audience," Ehrlich says. “It's critical to get them excited about the show."
Unlike the Oscar production team, which promptly begins working on their opening number for the show upon the announcement of a producer, Ehrlich doesn't decide what's first until he has two-thirds of the show booked.
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