News that Ariana Grande won’t be performing at the Grammys this year came as quite a disappointment to fans a few days ago, but suspicion about something being wrong started creeping in when it was revealed that she won’t even be attending the ceremony. This, despite the fact that she is nominated in two categories – Best Pop Solo Performance for God Is a Woman and Best Pop Vocal Album for Sweetener.
It has now come to fore that Ariana has had a feud with one of the producers of the awards show, Ken Ehrlich. In an angry tweet directed at him, she said, “I’ve kept my mouth shut but now you’re lying about me. I can pull together a performance over night and you know that, Ken. It was when my creativity & self expression was stifled by you, that I decided not to attend. I hope the show is exactly what you want it to be and more.”
i offered 3 different songs. it’s about collaboration. it’s about feeling supported. it’s about art and honesty. not politics. not doing favors or playing games. it’s just a game y’all.. and i’m sorry but that’s not what music is to me.
— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) February 7, 2019
Ariana is referring to Ken’s revelation in an Associated Press interview in which he has sighted less time for preparations to be Ariana’s reason for not performing at the Grammys. His exact statement reads, “As it turned out when we finally got the point where we thought maybe it would work, she felt it was too late for her to pull something together for sure. And it’s too bad. She’s a great artist. And I’d love to get her in the show this year.”
Apparently, the disagreement with the producers started over the decision on which songs she will be performing at the show. It’s being said that Ariana wanted to perform 7 Rings, which the producers were opposed to. When they finally budged, they insisted that the second song will be of their choosing, and this led to Ariana calling off her performance altogether.
passed a Grammy’s bus with my face on it typing those.
— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) February 7, 2019
To make matters worse, it has come to light that the Grammys are still using her face in their promotional material all over the US. According to her tweet, she was even passed by a bus with a Grammy ad featuring her face while she was writing her statement.
This Ariana Grande incident echoes one that happened last year with Lorde. She was disallowed from performing a song from her nominated album, and instead asked to feature in the Tom Petty tribute. This led her to pull out of the show, just like Ariana.
