Though the 61st Grammy Awards are only one night away, the biggest news cycle surrounding the show this week has focused more on whos not attending than who is. After Ariana Grande was reported to have pulled out of the slate of Grammy performers because of clashes with the production team, the shows longtime executive producer Ken Ehrlich said the reason was that the singer felt it was too late to pull something together but Grande fired back on Twitter that Ehrlich was lying about me and my creativity and self-expression was stifled.
I saw those tweets and what she said. I guess it was a surprise,Erhlich tellsRolling Stone at rehearsals for the show this weekend. I will say this, and they dont want me to say it but Im going to say it: The thing that probably bothered me more than whatever else she said about me is when she said Im not collaborative.
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The fact of the matter is and I actually wrote a little thing in the middle of the night that Im not going to do anything about, but, I mean. You can ask Christina Aguilera, who I asked to do Its a Mans World for James Brown, Ehrlich added. You can askMelissa Etheridge, who finished her cancer treatment and I put her out on stage, bald, doing Janis Joplin.You can ask Ricky Martin who overnight became the creator of the Latin music revolution. Ask Mary J. Blige, who was scared shitless to go out there and do No More Drama. I basically worked with her to mold it. Ask H.E.R. whos in this show.
Ehrlich says he never spoke to Grande directly, but worked with her management team, and that he usually does not have this happen. I dont know if Im good at anything else, but I understand artists and I can hear other artists in an artist, he says. I dont say to people, This is what you should do. I approach it casually and say, hey, this might be a good idea, lets find something in the middle.
The 61st Grammys airs Sunday night on CBS from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Dua Lipa, Cardi B and Post Malone are among those scheduled to perform, with Alicia Keys hosting the three-and-a-half hour live show.