LOS ANGELES, California — Grammy Awards organizers were unaware that Justin Bieber planned to perform in nothing but his underwear at this year’s ceremony, according to the show’s executive producer.
The 31-year-old singer surprised audiences at the Los Angeles event by walking onstage wearing only a pair of satin boxer shorts from his own fashion line and socks. The unconventional look stunned viewers — and, it turns out, the Grammys production team as well.
Speaking on the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast, Grammy Awards executive producer Ben Winston said Bieber did not disclose his wardrobe choice in advance.
“I don’t think he decided what the outfit would be until he walked on stage,” Winston said. “He’s not even really going, ‘This is what I’m going to do.’ When we reached out to him about his creative, he was just like, ‘I’m just going to get on stage and sing.’”
Winston also revealed that Bieber required minimal rehearsal time. Despite being allotted 90 minutes, the singer rehearsed for just 15 minutes before calling it a wrap.
“It was brilliant,” Winston said. “We are seven minutes into his hour-and-a-half rehearsal, and he goes, ‘How’d it look to you? You happy with it?’ And I was like, ‘Oh my God, it looked beautiful. I loved it.’ And he went, ‘Okay, fantastic. See you Sunday.’”
Winston did ask Bieber to run through the song one more time to allow camera operators to finalize their shots, but said the performance itself was entirely the artist’s vision.
“It was what he wanted to do. It was all him,” Winston said. “It was a career-defining moment for him. It was so different from what we’ve seen over the years.”
The awards show also featured another unexpected moment when Cher mistakenly announced the late Luther Vandross as the winner of Record of the Year, despite the singer having died in 2005. She quickly corrected herself and presented the award to the actual winner, Kendrick Lamar, for his collaboration with SZA, titled “Luther.”
Winston said Cher had been fully briefed prior to going onstage and that the correct information had been displayed on the teleprompter. Still, he said the moment added to the show’s legacy.
“If I could go back in time, I’d want that to happen again,” he said. “You want a bit of anarchy.”
He added that Cher was pleased with her appearance and took the moment in stride, saying she “had a great time” despite the initial mix-up. (Source: IANS)
