Grammy Awards host James Corden has some plans and surprises in store for Sunday night’s show, but he’s aware they could change at a moment’s notice.
The “Late Late Show” host told CNN he intends to keep the night “fun,” but won’t shy away from political themes if news of the day feels necessary to address.
“The Grammys are on Sunday, and with this current news cycle, we could be a different world by tonight, so it’s impossible to say,” Corden said when asked what role politics will play in the night. “I think it’s naïve, in a way, to just keep banging the same drum every day, so you want to be reactive to what’s happening, but only if something’s actually happening.”
Sunday will mark Corden’s first time hosting the music award show. He takes over the hosting duties from LL Cool J, who held the gig for the last five years.
Corden is feeling a touch of nerves ahead of the show.
“It’ll probably be terrible and then I will be banished from America and asked to never return because of the sham that I have made of not only myself, but also let my family down, the network down, and then forever it will be known as the year where he really ruined it,” he said.
More seriously, Corden said he’s hoping to keep the focus on the nominees.
“The truth is, when you’re hosting a show like this, it’s not really about me, it’s about these incredible artists,” he said. “So I’m going to try and usher it around in as positive and warm and fun way as possible, and really hope that we don’t ruin everything.”
Here are some other things to keep an eye out for on Grammy night:
Beyoncé vs. Adele
With nine nominations, Beyoncé leads the pack of nominees, but the singer faces off against fellow female music titan Adele in a number of big categories.
The two go toe-toe in record of the year, song of the year and album of the year.
It’s a diva-off for the ages.
Beyoncé AND Adele … and many others
Not everything’s a competition. And on music’s biggest night, some of the buzziest action will happen on the performance stage.
The Grammys have not officially announced Beyoncé as a performer, but rumor has it she and her in utero bey-beys will take the stage.
Adele, Katy Perry, The Weeknd, Chance the Rapper, Carrie Underwood, John Legend, Keith Urban, and the Super Bowl’s biggest winner, Lady Gaga, are also set to perform.
Emotional tributes
Hollywood experienced massive amounts of loss last year, but the music industry, in particular, took two big hits with the deaths of George Michael and Prince.
The Recording Academy has said Sunday’s show will pay special tribute to the two music legends.
The Grammy Awards air February 12 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
CNN’s Topher Gauk-Roger contributed to this report.
