Stephen Sondheim to be remembered at this year's GRAMMY awards with performances from Rachel Zegler, Cynthia Erivo, Ben Platt and more

A salute to legendary composer Stephen Sondheim is slated for this year's Grammy awards with performances from Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr., Ben Platt and Rachel Zegler. The performances will appear in the show's traditional In Memoriam segment rather than being a separate segment of the telecast.

All of the featured performers have a connection to Sondheim and his famed Broadway classics. Erivo was included in the "Ladies Who Sing Sondheim" benefit gala in 2016 and more recently lent her powerhouse vocals to 'The Miller's Son' at the 2019 Sondheim Award Gala. Platt sang 'It Takes Two' from Into The Woods on the livestream “Take Me to the World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration.” Odom Jr. recorded a medley with Renee Flemming that included 'Children Will Listen'. Zegler reprised the role of Maria in last year's remake of the Sondheim/Leonard Bernstein 1957 classic West Side Story.

The Grammys will be broadcast on April 3 on CBS live. The show will also be available for streaming live and on demand via Paramount Plus.

After being postponed by the pandemic, the awards show has been moved to Las Vegas for the first time. Due to a surge of COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles, the show's organisers searched for a location that could accommodate the music industry's biggest night. The ceremony will now be held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Trevor Noah, from the satirical late night talkshow, The Daily Show, will return to host the awards for the second time.

Sondheim died last November at age 91. The Grammys are the first of this year's awards shows that are expected to pay homage to the composer, with the Oscars, Tonys and Emmys likely to follow suit. Sondheim holds eight trophies from both the Grammys and Tonys and clinched an Oscar for 'Sooner or Later' from Dick Tracy.