As if the 2017 Grammys weren’t going to be amazing enough, Adele and Beyoncé have both been softly confirmed to be performing. In an interview with Billboard , Ken Erlich, the Grammy’s producer since 1980, indicated that both A-listers would be present at the awards show.
When asked if both artists were booked to perform on the show, Ken replied that “Very few people say no to the Grammys. Over all the years I’ve been doing the show, there have been [only] three or four acts who’ve actually said no.”
When asked who those acts were that turned down the chance to play at the Grammys, Erlich only said that he was absolutely not going to reveal who they were.
“But I can tell you that Adele and Beyoncé are not two of them. We have every anticipation that both of them will be with us in February.”
The duo will likely not perform together, but that doesn’t make this any less exciting. After all, both successful artists are competing in three very prestigious categories.
Both Queen B and Adele have been nominated for Album of the Year for Lemonade and 25 . They are both also competing in the Record of the Year and Song of the Year categories for “Formation,” and “Hello.” The final category where the two have been nominated side-by-side is Best Pop Solo Performance (“Hello” by Adele, and “Hold Up” by Beyoncé ).
This isn’t the first time that the two have gone head-to-head over an award. Both were nominated for Best Female R&B/Pop Artist at the 2016 BET Awards. Beyoncé won that one, and also walked away with the Video of the Year, Centric Award, and the Coca-Cola Viewers’ Choice Award.
Neither Beyoncé nor Adele are any strangers to the pressures of the music awards season. After all, Adele has been nominated for 16 Grammys and won nine. In 2009, she won the coveted Best New Artist Award as well as Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. In 2012, she was nominated for six Grammys and swept them, raking in the Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Pop Solo Performance, Best Pop Vocal Album, and Best Short Form Music Video.
Beyoncé isn’t exactly hurting for Grammys either. Since first bursting onto the scene with power group Destiny’s Child in 2000, she’s been nominated for 62 Grammy Awards and walked away with 20 of them. Her first win was in 2001 with Destiny’s Child and “Say My Name,” which won for Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance by a Duo of Group with Vocals. Her first solo win came in 2004 when she won a Grammy for Best Contemporary R&B Album with Dangerously in Love .
The pair may be in competition for a few awards, but the two are actually big fans of each other. Adele has spoken at her concerts about her love and respect for Queen B.
The other nominees for Album of the Year are Purpose by Justin Bieber, Views by Drake, and the surprising nominee, A Sailor’s Guide To Earth by Sturgill Simpson. Competing for Record of the Year are “7 Years” by Lukas Graham, “Work” by Rihanna, Featuring Drake, and “Stressed Out” by Twenty One Pilots. The other three nominees for Best Pop Solo Performance are “Love Yourself” by Justin Bieber, “Piece by Piece (Idol Version)” by Kelly Clarkson, and “Dangerous Woman” by Ariana Grande.
The 2017 Grammy Awards will be held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and will air live on February 12, 2017 at 8 p.m. EST on CBS.
[Featured Image by Helga Esteb/Shutterstock]