“It feels like walking into a piece of history,” Audrey Nuna says not long after making her way into the holding room alongside fellow KPop Demon Hunters singers Ejae and Rei Ami to take the class photo for their first-ever Clive Davis Pre-Grammy Gala.
She’s not wrong. For 51 years running, Davis and his coveted Grammy event have served as a time capsule capturing the biggest and best of what music has to offer in a given year. The performers, presenters and attendees he invites are a wonderfully random collection of stars, whether it’s best new artist nominees, star athletes, powerful politicians and famous broadcasters.
This year was no different, as this year’s class included the likes of Olivia Dean, Sombr and Alex Warren, alongside party veterans like Jennifer Hudson and John Legend as well as the legendary Art Garfunkel.
“Every year it’s a new class, and every year there’s somebody where you say ‘oh my god, so-and-so is here,” Gayle King, a regular attendee for the gala, tells THR after the class photo wrapped up. As for what keeps King coming back each year?
“I love music, and I love the variety,” she says. “Clive always seems to know who to ask and when to ask. It’s not just a matter of getting the biggest star. Of course he gets that too. But he always finds the other people you talk about that just makes you go ‘ooh.’”
Putting such a high concentration of stars in one small room for a photo brings no shortage of blink and you miss it moments. Legend rolled in with wife Chrissy Tiegen beside him, who watched while the photos got shot. At one point, you hear Sombr tell King how much of a fan of hers he is, then get in a group hug with Alex Warren and Laufey. Moments later, he gets a dap up from MGK.
“What’s up brother,” he tells the rapper/rockstar, as if they’re old friends.
Not long after the stars scattered once the photo was done, Ejae, Nuna and Ami could be found huddled in a circle on the ground. “Did someone trip?” a publicist asks with some concern as they as they look toward the pile. As it turns out, the girls are enamored with Charlie, Clive’s cavalier king charles spaniel, who was on site Saturday evening too. As Ejae asks while the three singers rub Charlies head and belly: “Can he sit at our table?”
Original Article on Hollywood Reporter