Joni Mitchell, 80, to Perform at Grammy Awards For the First Time Ever

Reuters | January 29th, 2024

Canadian folk legend and 10-time Grammy winner Joni Mitchell – seen here during one of her famous "Joni Jam" concerts at Gorge Amphitheatre this past June – is set to perform at the Grammys for the first time. Photo: Gary Miller/Getty Images

Joni Mitchell is to perform at the Grammy Awards for the first time.

The 80-year-old singer – who is nominated for Best Folk Album for Joni Mitchell at Newport – will take to the stage at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena on 4 February, marking the only time she has ever sang at the annual ceremony, despite having been honoured with 10 Grammy awards in the past, including the Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002.

The Both Sides Now singer suffered a brain aneurysm in 2015 which left her unable to talk or walk for some time but in July 2022, she returned to the stage for her first full show since 2000 when she made a surprise appearance at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island, before making her official comeback in June 2023 at the Echoes Through the Canyon festival.

Joni joins a long list of performers for this year’s ceremony, with Billy Joel – who is returning to sing at the event for the first time in 20 years – Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish, Burna Boy, Like Combs, Travis Scott and Olivia Rodrigo. In addition, U2 will also stage a performance from their Sphere residency in Las Vegas.

SZA is the most-nominated artist, having received nine nominations in total, including nods in the Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year categories.

Phoebe Bridgers, Serban Ghenea and Victoria Monét have seven nods, while Jack Antonoff, Jon Batiste, boygenius, Brandy Clark, Miley Cyrus, Billie, Olivia and Taylor Swift have six each.

Taylor, 34, became the first artist in history to receive seven nominations in the prestigious Song of the Year category, with the shortlisting of Anti-Hero seeing her surpass the likes of Sir Paul McCartney and Lionel Richie.

The chart-topping star – who released her album Midnights in October 2022 – also tied with Barbra Streisand for the most all-time nominations by a female artist.

Trevor Noah returns as host for this year’s ceremony.

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