Trevor Noah is returning to host the Grammy Awards for a fourth time — however that is the primary time he’s internet hosting as a nominee.
Noah earned his first nomination for finest comedy album on the 2020 present with Son of Patricia, dropping to Dave Chappelle’s Sticks & Stones. He’s battling the comedy king once more on Sunday, alongside different Black icons: Chris Rock (Selective Outrage) and Wanda Sykes (I’m An Entertainer). All of their specials aired on Netflix; Sarah Silverman’s Somebody You Love, on HBO, spherical out the nominees.
“I’m nominated alongside my heroes: Wanda Sykes, Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle. I don’t ever take these moments as a right. I believe to myself how loopy it’s to even be in the identical class as these individuals,” Noah tells LeslyNewsMagazine. “After I was considering of [doing] comedy, Dave Chappelle was already an achieved comic. After I was considering of beginning to possibly inform someone a joke, Chris Rock was already one of many greatest comedians on the planet, and the identical goes for Wanda Sykes. So I’ve by no means been someone who’s in a rush to win or to be regarded as the most effective at something. I’m actually, actually, actually not even saying this simply to be humble or something. I’m actually blissful and grateful to only be in that firm.”
Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock and Wanda Sykes
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The 39-year-old, who’s in competitors with acts of their 50s, provides: “I nearly need to savor that much more as a result of what an expertise, what a journey to be on. That’s simply mind-blowing for me. These are my mentors and my mates. This can be a surreal expertise.”
Noah is nominated with I Want You Would, whereas Chappelle — who has received finest comedy album 4 occasions — is up with What’s In A Title? “I’m glad that it’s occurring in my fourth 12 months [hosting the awards], as a result of I believe in my first 12 months, that may’ve been an emotional overload. Being nominated for a Grammy is so momentous that I don’t understand how you can deal with internet hosting a present on the similar time. And internet hosting the present is a lot stress and there’s a lot that’s occurring reside that you simply don’t need to be distracted by this concept that you could be or could not win an award. That is could be the excellent time for it to occur.”
Noah, a two-time Emmy winner, may make historical past together with his first Grammy win — and others may additionally set information on Sunday night time. SZA’s SOS may grow to be the primary album by a Black girl to win album of the 12 months in 25 years, whereas Taylor Swift may grow to be the primary artist to win the highest award 4 occasions with Midnights. And others may win their first-ever Grammy after years of releasing music, together with Lana Del Rey, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, Victoria Monét and extra.
Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and SZA
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“I’d hope that one thing like that would occur. Any time historical past may be made, I’m at all times in favor of it as a result of I at all times suppose, ‘For those who can simply knock down that first domino, then hopefully the remainder comply with.’ And so I’m at all times rooting for individuals to interrupt information,” says Noah, who hosted final 12 months when Beyoncé turned probably the most embellished artist in Grammy historical past together with her thirty second win.
“I’m rooting for Beyoncé to interrupt probably the most wins. I’m rooting for Taylor Swift to win probably the most albums. I’m rooting for SZA to grow to be the primary—. There’s simply one thing magical about seeing someone’s journey culminate within the making of historical past. What’s powerful about these classes is that just about each single particular person in them is somebody who I consider deserves to win that award. And that’s the one factor that sucks about awards is that not everyone can win,” he provides.
Noah says he doesn’t vote for the winners, which makes his internet hosting gig a bit simpler: “I’m not a part of the voting contingency, and I’m really glad as a result of then no person can come as much as me and say, ‘Who did you vote for? What did you do?’ Fortunately, I don’t have that stress on my shoulders.”
However Noah is aware of a factor or two about dropping awards: Although he received his first Emmy in 2017 — excellent brief kind selection sequence for The Day by day Present: Between the Scenes — he has misplaced excellent selection discuss sequence 5 occasions from 2018 to 2022, all to HBO’s Final Week Tonight With John Oliver. However final 12 months the Tv Academy modified its guidelines and moved Final Week Tonight into the scripted selection class, and Noah joked concerning the British-American comic onstage when accumulating the Emmy earlier this month: “I instructed you we’d beat John Oliver if he wasn’t in our class.”
Trevor Noah
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The triumph for The Day by day Present With Trevor Noah was noteworthy for a number of causes: It marked the primary win for the Comedy Central present since Jon Stewart’s last 12 months as host and the win was for Noah’s final season.
“It felt like an exquisite shock,” he says. “It’s further particular as a result of oftentimes you win the award and you then simply return to creating the present. You nearly don’t have time to essentially ruminate on the time that you simply’ve spent making the factor or on the individuals that you simply’ve made it with and what the journey means to you. And with the ability to win the award after leaving the present and likewise having the time after profitable the award to only sit with that feeling is absolutely, actually one thing that I recognize as a result of it permits me to do one thing that I believe most human beings don’t have the power to do, and that’s simply course of one thing actually stunning and great that they’ve skilled of their lives.
“It’s the way in which some {couples} are fortunate sufficient to go on a honeymoon after their marriage ceremony, and different individuals simply need to get married after which simply keep on with their lives. And that is simply how life is. And for individuals who do have a second to understand it, I do suppose it’s a beautiful blessing,” he provides.
Noah says he’s prepping for Sunday’s Grammys — which is able to air reside on CBS from the Crypto.com Enviornment in Los Angeles — by listening to a playlist of the nominees and performers, which incorporates SZA, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Olivia Rodrigo, Joni Mitchell, Billy Joel, Luke Combs, Burna Boy and Travis Scott.
He’s additionally conscious of the talk about if comedians ought to proceed internet hosting awards exhibits following Jo Koy’s fumble on the latest Golden Globes. Kevin Hart warned, “These gigs aren’t good gigs for comics”; Whoopi Goldberg stated internet hosting awards present may be “brutal”; David Spade known as the gig a “no-win state of affairs”; and Michael Che stated that “comedians ought to boycott internet hosting award exhibits.”
Although Noah has constructed his profession doing stand-up comedy, he says that form of efficiency act is completely different to internet hosting an awards present. “I believe stand-up comedy is a efficiency that’s curated not only for, however by the comic, for their very own viewers. And so it’s a really insular expertise. It’s one the place you’re in complete management and most significantly, you’re the motive that the persons are there. An award present is completely different as a result of you aren’t the rationale individuals have come, more often than not. And everybody that’s there within the viewers is there predominantly as a result of they’re hoping to take dwelling an award for his or her physique of labor. So I believe that makes the gig completely different.
“I believe it signifies that it’s not the identical talent units, and I believe that signifies that the end result is rather less predictable. As a result of in case you’re a comic and also you’re onstage and also you’re not doing properly, you’ll be able to change issues up, you’ll be able to no matter. You are able to do no matter you need to do. You’ll be able to’t do this at an award present,” he provides. “There are time constraints. There’s a present that also must run. There’s materials constraints since you’re on community nationwide tv. So that you don’t have all of the instruments at your disposal to carry out the required maneuvers that you simply would possibly must to put it aside if it’s not going properly. So it’s a really completely different self-discipline and I don’t take that as a right as a result of it’s troublesome in a really completely different form of solution to simply doing stand-up.”