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A-List Acts Rehearse Ahead Of Sunday's Grammy Awards

posted 10 Feb 2013, 10:34 by Sam Mbale   [ updated 10 Feb 2013, 10:35 ]

Elton JohnTaylor Swift, and Juanes are among the celebrities preparing to take the stage at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards Sunday.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIAUNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 08, 2013) (RECORDING ACADEMY/CBS) -  Some of the biggest stars in music were under the roof at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles Saturday (February 09), rehearsing for a Grammy Awards telecast that promises to be chock full of A-listers.

Elton JohnTaylor SwiftJuanesMavis StaplesMumford & Sons, Fun, Ed Sheeran, and Miguel were among those preparing for Sunday's show, the biggest night in the music industry.

John, who has performed at several Grammy Awards, says he was looking forward to a collaboration of Americana music with several acts.

"The fun of it for me is playing with other people. I play on my own all the time, so playing with this guy and the band like that, with Mumford & Sons, and the people in the band -Zac Brown, and Mavis, and Brittany, it's just a no brainer how much fun it is," said John, beside legendary songwriter and producer T. Bone Burnett.

For John, 65, the Grammys is a chance to expand the boundaries of music, especially to other generations of music, but he feels the telecast can be somewhat youth-heavy in its lineup.

"Hopefully, it should be more of a potpourri than it is. It tends to be a little ageist, and I don't like that, but apart from that... Yeah, I hate it. T. Bone and I are the oldest people ever to play the Grammys, and we're only thirty," joked John.

For Swift, nominated for three Grammy Awards, this will be the first awards telecast that she will open with a performance, which makes her night easier, she says.

"We're opening the show, and so what that essentially means, you get to perform, and then you get to watch the show, stress-free," says Taylor Swift, on hand at the Staples Center for rehearsals. "I'm probably still going to be nervous about everything, but less so because my performance is the first thing."

British folk band Mumford & Sons is happy to be nominated for six awards, including Album of the year, for "Babel," but they say they don't like the feeling that music has turned into a competition.

"This thing is dangerous because it makes it seem like music is a competition. Yeah, it's been really humbling and honoring having lots of nominations for things, but it doesn't really mean anything," says Marcus Mumford, of Mumford & Sons.

For Latin Grammy Award winner Juanes, the Grammys are a chance to share music internationally.

"Music is about culture, about exchanging culture, and for me to have the opportunity to be here singing a beautiful song in Spanish and in English, it's such a great honor. And, well, I hope this is just the beginning," says Juanes, who will perform at the Grammy Awards Sunday.

The Grammys Awards will be presented and shown live on CBS television.


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