Brad Paisley, Eric Church + More Sign on for ‘Grammy Salute to the Sounds of Change’ Special
Brad Paisley, Eric Church, Chris Stapleton and LeAnn Rimes will represent the country music contingent at an upcoming all-genre television special called A Grammy Salute to the Sounds of Change.
Airing on March 17 — just days after the 2021 Grammy Awards ceremony — the two-hour show promises to spotlight some of the iconic songs that have helped enact social change throughout history. Artists of all genres and stylistic ilks will take turns offering renditions of some of history's most iconic songs and will shed light on the back stories behind those songs, too.
The event will feature an appearance from soul singer-songwriter Leon Bridges, who has dipped his toes in the country genre in the past: In 2018, he participated in a CMT Crossroads event with Luke Combs, which included a performance of Combs' hit "Beautiful Crazy" as well as Bridges' own "Beyond."
Also making appearances during the special are Creedence Clearwater Revival legend John Fogerty, pop superstar Gloria Estefan, gospel legend Yolanda Adams and many more. D Smoke, Andra Day, Sheila E.,Patti LaBelle and Gladys Knight are also among the artists who'll make appearances, as will actor and singer-songwriter Cynthia Erivo, television personality Gayle King and others.
Additionally, the show will feature several activists, as well as others from the arts and entertainment world as presenters. Grammy Award-winning rapper Common will host the event.
All four of the country performers participating in A Grammy Salute to the Sounds of Change have a lengthy history with the Grammy Awards. Stapleton is the most-awarded artist of the bunch: He's taken home five Grammys over the course of his career, including two Best Country Album wins in 2015 and 2017 (for Traveler and From A Room: Volume 1, respectively.) He's also picked up two trophies for Best Country Solo Performance, plus another for Best Country Song (for "Broken Halos," in 2017).
Rimes has a tidy two Grammy wins under her belt, both of which she notched in 1996: One trophy for Best Female Country Performance (for "Blue") and an all-genre Best New Artist win that same year. Since then, she's picked up a number of nominations, even getting into a bit of an awkward situation at the 1998 Grammy Awards show when she and Trisha Yearwood were both nominated for Best Female Country Performance — for the same song!
For his part, Paisley has picked up three Grammy trophies, all in country-specific categories, over the years. Those wins came over the course of 2007-2008, but he's been getting mentions at the ceremony since 2000, when he scored a nomination in the all-genre Best New Artist category. Church is the only artist of the four who has no Grammy Awards trophies to his name, though that could change at the upcoming ceremony: He's nominated for Best Country Solo Performance, courtesy of his single, "Stick That in Your Country Song." The mention is his 10th Grammy nomination to date.
A Grammy Salute to the Sounds of Change will air on CBS at 9PM ET.