The awards show onslaught continues this Sunday with the biggest prizes in music getting handed out at the Grammys (8 p.m. on CBS). But unlike the Oscars, most of us won’t really be tuning in to see who wins — it’s all about watching the industry stars do what they do best: perform. Here are the five performances we can’t wait to see, in ascending order of oh-my-God-ness.
Lorde
It’s hard to believe that for most awards show last year, we didn’t even know what a Lorde was. For her big Grammy debut, Lorde is likely to go hard. Though even if she just stands in front of a mike, we can rest assured her creepy zombie dancing will keep us entertained.
Pink and Nate Ruess
Crazy enough, the badass pop star and fun. frontman have never performed their uber-popular duet “Just Give Me a Reason” on network TV. Pink always puts on a show, but our fingers are crossed that she leaves her hanging-from-the-ceiling ribbon dancing shtick home this time. Free idea: Put the bed from the music video onstage, and make Pink dance on it with a muscley man while Nate sings from the sidelines in a human-size version of the TV. You’re welcome.
Kendrick Lamar with Imagine Dragons
The combination of the critically adored rapper and the slow-build radio rock group may seem a little random, but a mash-up of the two has garnered more than 200,000 views on YouTube. If it sounds half as good as that, we’re in for a treat.
Kacey Musgraves
Musgraves’ is one of country music’s hottest rising stars, as shown by her Best New Artist nomination. With a new gig opening for Katy Perry’s “Prism” tour, her crossover takeover is imminent. Look for this guitar-in-hand number to incite a lot of “WHO WAS THAT?! NEED TO DOWNLOAD IMMEDIATELY” tweets.
Beyoncé and Jay-Z
Are we even worthy of witnessing this holy pair live onstage? The answer is unclear, as is what we’ll be blessed to hear. The couple’s single “Drunk in Love” off Beyoncé’s surprise December album is a likely bet, but knowing Queen Bey, we’re in for more than just a run-of-the-mill single promotion. Expect nothing less than a life changing experience.
And in case you were wondering, all these guys are performing, too: Gary Clark Jr.; Hunter Hayes; Nine Inch Nails with Queens of the Stone Age and Dave Grohl; Sara Bareilles with Carole King; Daft Punk with Nile Rodgers, Pharrell Williams and Stevie Wonder; John Legend; Macklemore and Ryan Lewis; Metallica with Lang Lang; Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr; Katy Perry; Robin Thicke with Chicago; Taylor Swift; Keith Urban; and Merle Haggard with Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson and Blake Shelton.