GRAMMYS LIVE ON CHANNEL O

The Original.African channel has secured the rights to broadcast the 53rd Annual GRAMMY® Awards telecast giving viewers a front row seat to the live screening of the most prestigious music awards event in the world. The ceremony on February 13 gets going at 20h00 ET in Los Angeles, giving it a 03h00am CAT broadcast time on February 14 in the continent where music fans will be able to watch the joy (and heartache) that comes when winners are announced. This will be followed by an evening broadcast on M-Net at 20h30.

2010 saw Lil Wayne leading the pack with eight nominations, this year the spotlight is on rapper Eminem with a field-leading 10 Grammy Award nominations for his Recovery album, which includes nods in all three top categories - Album, Record and Song of the Year. Not far behind: Bruno Mars nabbed seven, while Jay-Z, Lady Antebellum and Lady Gaga each earned six nods. Jeff Beck, B.o.B, David Frost, Philip Lawrence, John Legend, Ari Levine, and the Roots received five each; and Alex Da Kid, the Black Keys, Drake, Cee Lo Green, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Dirk Sobotka, and Zac Brown each earned four nominations.

Eminem will be one of the performers on the night, along with GRAMMY Award® winning rock legend Mick Jagger who will perform live at the GRAMMY Awards for the first time. Accompanied by GRAMMY® winner Raphael Saadiq and his band, Jagger will perform as part of the telecast's annual "In Memoriam" tribute, which pays homage to members of the music community who have passed away in the previous year.

Other performers include current GRAMMY® nominees Justin Bieber and Usher; nominees B.o.B, Bruno Mars, and Janelle Monáe. Drake and Rihanna; and a once-in-a-lifetime performance with Cee Lo Green, Academy Award® winner Gwyneth Paltrow, and the Jim Henson Company Puppets, Arcade Fire, Green, Lady Antebellum, Lady Gaga, Miranda Lambert, Muse, and Katy Perry, while current three-time GRAMMY nominee Dierks Bentley, nine-time GRAMMY winner and current nominee Norah Jones, singer/actor Selena Gomez, two-time GRAMMY winner and actor LL COOL J, current nominee Nicki Minaj, and current nominee Blake Shelton will appear as presenters.

The GRAMMY's are the only peer-presented awards to honour artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position. The 53rd Annual GRAMMY® Awards take place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast LIVE and exclusive on Channel O on February 14 at 03h00am.