The biz once again donned its formalwear and set the controls for "full schmooze" at
Clive Davis’ annual Pre-
Grammy Gala, Saturday night (2/3) at
The Beverly Hilton. Clive, event amanuensis
Doug Davis and team went all out, as ever.
After the traditional cocktail hour, during which label heads, agency machers, management poohbahs, super-producers and others mingled vigorously—and those so inclined grabbed a selfie with
Nancy Pelosi or
George Clinton—we were ushered to our tables for dinner and the night's festivities. (Our location, back in the corner, paired
HITS idiots with actual journalists, one of whom swore I was the spitting image of
Lyor. Gosh, thanks, kid.)
The proceedings got off to a lively start with a performance by
Warner’s
Green Day, introduced by superfan
Serena Williams.
Tom Hanks ambled out to deliver a tone poem about Clive’s stunning career. Then it was time for the first round of remarks by Clive himself, a recitation of high-profile attendees and their achievements (Nancy!
Berry Gordy!
Smokey Robinson!
JAY-Z and
Beyoncé!
Cher!
Mariah Carey!
Meryl Streep!
Cameron Crowe!) intoned in that singularly Clivey fashion, with a wave to the crowd from each subject.
Recording Academy boss and co-host
Harvey Mason Jr. then praised His Cliveness.
We can’t do
all the BNA-heavy performances justice, especially as the martinis were working as hard as the acts onstage, but we’ll note a few:
Mark Ronson and band performed “I’m Just Ken” from the
Barbie ST, doing a gender-flip by enlisting country arrival
Lainey Wilson on vocals.
RCA’s
Victoria Monét brought some classic R&B glamour.
Mercury/
Republic’s
Noah Kahan knocked it out of the park with his two-song set.
10K/
Capitol’s
Ice Spice prowled the stage with confidence.
Josh Groban’s appearance was highlighted by a duet with
The War and Treaty’s
Michael Trotter, Jr. on “Bridge Over Troubled Water” that brought the crowd to its feet.
Jelly Roll turned in a fiery couple of numbers (joined by the aforementioned Wilson on one) and, rather endearingly, voiced his excitement about entering the Grammy/Clive party swim.
Preceding
Sony Music Publishing topper
Jon Platt’s Industry Icon speech, hip-hop giants
Public Enemy (flexing their hits with aplomb) and soul legends
The Isley Brothers (who killed with “Shout”) brought the energy level up. Introduced by Mason—who recalled begging him for a pub deal back in the day—Platt turned in heartfelt, unstudied remarks expressing gratitude for the people who made his extraordinary path possible, including
Jheryl Busby, the late, great
Clarence Avant and his competitor
Jody Gerson;
to the
UMPG boss, who hired him at
EMI, beginning his incredible run in publishing, he expressed “deep love and respect.”
Latin phenom
Maluma performed next. Giants
Gladys Knight,
Dionne Warwick and
Stevie Wonder, along with
Andra Day and
Keyshia Cole, shared the stage for the finale.
It was well past midnight by then, and time for all and sundry to mount their Ubers and grab a few winks ahead of Music’s Biggest Night. As for me, I noted that 916 people have now officially told me I look like
Jeff Goldblum. But
Lyor?
Pictured: Clive with Kahan, with Public Enemy (credit: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages), with Streep, Cher and Warner Co-Chair/COO Tom Corson, Green Day, Groban and Trotter, Jelly Roll, The Isleys and Platt
