sombr, Clipse, Leon Thomas & More Will Take Us ‘Inside the 68th Grammy Awards,’ Two Nights Before Music’s Biggest Night

CBS will air the one-hour special Inside the 68th Grammy Awards on Friday, Jan. 30, two nights before the network airs the Grammy telecast.

The special is billed as “a behind-the-scenes look at Music’s Biggest Night” and includes interviews with best new artist nominees sombr and Leon Thomas, as well as Pharrell Williams, Reba McEntire and Clipse. The special also includes industry insiders breaking down the major categories. Zane Lowe, host of The Zane Lowe Show, will host the show.

The Recording Academy announced Tuesday that all eight best new artist nominees, including sombr and Thomas, will perform on the Grammy telecast.

Inside The 68th Annual Grammy Awards is a production of the Recording Academy and Fulwell Entertainment. Ben Winston, Harvey Mason jr. and Eric Pankowski are executive producers. Branden Chapman is co-executive producer. Winston is one of four executive producers of the 68th annual Grammy Awards, along with Raj Kapoor, Jesse Collins and host Trevor Noah. Mason is CEO of the Recording Academy. Chapman is chief global entertainment officer at the Recording Academy. Pankowksi works for Fulwell Entertainment. 

Thomas has six Grammy nominations this year, more than any of the other best new artist candidates. Williams and Clipse each have four nominations, including three for work they did together on Clipse’s album Let God Sort Em Out, which Williams produced.

McEntire and sombr each have one nomination. McEntire is nominated for best country duo/group performance for “Trailblazer,” a collab with Miranda Lambert and Lainey Wilson. sombr is nominated for best new artist. At 20, he is the youngest nominee in that category in four years.

Inside The 68th Annual Grammy Awards airs Friday, Jan. 30, from 8-9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.