Saturday, December 21, 2024

Grammys: Stevie Wonder Special Scored Big Numbers, Who Should Be Next?

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All in all, the Grammy weekend was a TV ratings winner for NARAS prez Neil Portnow. The Grammys themselves dropped off,but the show was very good and it gave everyone involved– all the artists like Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, and Taylor Swift– big bumps in sales. So that’s a total success.

Meantime, Monday night’s “Songs in the Key of Life” special honoring Stevie Wonder, won its time slot easily and brought CBS 7 or 8 million viewers it might not have had otherwise. Last year, the Grammys gave the Beatles 50th reunion show and it was a hit. So, now, who should be the honoree for 2016?

What I don’t understand is why the Grammys just don’t make life easy, and use the MusiCares Person of the Year show they have on Friday of Grammy weekend? This year it would have been Bob Dylan with lots of guest stars. Why don’t they just broadcast that show?

But if they don’t, they can double back and re-honor former Person of the Year honorees with another show. All of our stars from the 60s and 70s will be lost in a loop of nostalgia for the next 20 years.

Knowing CBS, my guess would be Neil Diamond for next year. Or Barbra Streisand. Stay tuned…

PS Why don’t record companies see that “adult” artists have a huge following? And not just record companies, but radio stations? There’s a huge untapped market out there.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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