We really do believe in artists' rights. Everything comes from them. They are more than the sum of their lyrics and music.
"Can I have more [sound] in my ear?" Miley Cyrus asked as she went over notes with Elton John.
The two were prepping a take of John's signature "Tiny Dancer" as rehearsals for Sunday's 60th Grammy Awards kicked off at Madison Square Garden Thursday afternoon.
It was the first day of the penultimate lap of the marathon that's been underway since Grammy nominations were announced in November, and the well orchestrated chorus of chaos that comes with mounting a live 3½-hour music spectacle was apparent before you walked into the cavernous venue.
A forklift carrying barricades held up a crowd of commuters rushing toward Penn Station as construction was underway in and around the arena prepping for music's biggest night, which is returning to New York for the first time in 15 years.
"We love our home in L.A., but this offers us a chance to shake it up a little bit and message it a little differently to the audience," said Jack Sussman, CBS's vice president of live events and specials. "It's the 60th anniversary and we haven't been here in 15 years. This was an opportunity, for one year, to give [the show] a different spin."
