New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Singer/songwriter
Sam Smith and hip-hop artist
Big Sean (joining previously announced
Ariana Grande) are the latest performers announced for "A Very GRAMMY Christmas." Two-time GRAMMY winner LL COOL J will host the new one-hour entertainment special, which will include performances of holiday songs and current pop hits, as well as artists sharing their favorite holiday and GRAMMY memories. Previously announced performers include nine-time GRAMMY winner Mary J. Blige, singer/songwriter Grande, three-time GRAMMY-winning group Maroon 5, three-time GRAMMY winner Tim McGraw, and seven-time GRAMMY winner Pharrell Williams. "A Very GRAMMY Christmas" will air on Friday, Dec. 5, 9 - 10 p.m. ET/PT, and will be broadcast in HDTV and 5.1 surround sound on the CBS Television Network. For updates and breaking news, please visit GRAMMY.com and The Recording Academy®'s social networks on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
In addition to performances, the nominations in the Album Of The Year category for the 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards® will be announced during the broadcast of "A Very GRAMMY Christmas." Other nominations will be revealed the morning of Dec. 5, starting at 8:30 a.m. ET with four categories to be read live on "CBS This Morning." From 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. ET, various artists and celebrities will announce additional categories via videos posted to Twitter. At 2 p.m. ET, a list of nominations in 82 of 83 categories will be posted on GRAMMY.com, with a complete list of nominations and a final release posted at 10 p.m. ET following the announcement of Album Of The Year nominations on the one-hour special. Follow @theGRAMMYs or use hashtag #GRAMMYs to join the conversation as it unfolds Dec. 5.
The road to Music's Biggest Night begins with "A Very GRAMMY Christmas" and culminates with the 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards, live from STAPLES Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2015, and broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Last year's airing of "The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live!! — Countdown To Music's Biggest Night" helped lead to stellar ratings for the 56th Annual GRAMMY Awards, which ultimately garnered more than 30 million viewers - the second-largest audience for the awards broadcast since 1993. The telecast also was the biggest social television event at the time, with 34 million social media interactions (with statistics compiled by Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, and Twitter).
"A Very GRAMMY Christmas" is produced by AEG Ehrlich Ventures, LLC. Ken Ehrlich is the executive producer. LL COOL J is co-producer, and Louis J. Horvitz is director.