Today, we’ve been given news of a musical collaboration we had no idea we absolutely needed until now: It has been confirmed that Super Bowl LI halftime performer Lady Gaga will perform at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards this year, and she’ll be sharing the stage with Metallica, who is nominated for “Best Rock Song.” (via Vulture).
Does this make sense? We can justify it: Metallica is no stranger to collaboration, considering they made an entire album with Lou Reed, Lulu, in 2011, and Gaga has made an effort to incorporate a stronger rock influence in her music, working with Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker on her single “Perfect Illusion.”
This definitely sounds like a reason to tune in, but before the ceremonies on February 14, let’s look back at the Grammys’ history of pairing together different musicians to share the stage, because it’s rich. We’re not sure we found anything that sounds as bizarre as Gaga/Metallica, but then again, remember that Radiohead once performed with a marching band. That and other examples are below, so let’s dig in.
Moby, Jill Scott, and Blue Man Group (2001)
Any collaboration that includes Blue Man Group is bound to have some oddity attached to it, but if there is a natural fit, it’s electronic experimenter Moby. Blue Man Group’s thumping percussion works ideally with the soulful track, and Scott’s vocals are a wonderful match for the song, so despite a roster that fairly arouses skepticism, this rendition of “Natural Blues” plays out super, super well.
Linkin Park, Jay Z, and Paul McCartney (2006)
It’s kind of amazing that Beatles leader Paul McCartney was ever in the same room as nu-metal heroes Linkin Park. It feels like names were thrown into a hat and this is what was picked out, but they and Jay Z manage to further mash-up “Numb/Encore” with “Yesterday,” and it works surprisingly well (although Jay Z becomes irrelevant when all he can do is ad-lib “Alright, alright” while the two singers duet).
Justin Timberlake, Al Green, Boyz II Men, and Keith Urban (2009)
You don’t see pop, R&B, soul, and country cross over all that often, but in this case, it was a surprisingly smooth combination. Urban was only playing guitar and didn’t add much twangy flare to his strumming, so his performance doesn’t result in too many cooks in the kitchen. He brings an effective guitar solo that fits in well with the song, and with Justin Timberlake, Al Green, and Boyz II Men on vocals, there wasn’t much room for this to have gone wrong.
Radiohead and the USC Marching Band (2009)
This one comes off strange on paper, but In Rainbows was also a pretty orchestral album. Just because Yorke’s orchestra here is also capable of walking and hyping up a football crowd doesn’t mean they’re less equipped to take care of the job, and that’s precisely what they did here. Save for the increased emphasis on percussion, this take on “15 Step” is pretty faithful to the original, so we’ll take that.
Featured image: Interscope
