Clive Davis Picks Five Favorite Duets From 50 Years of His Pre-Grammy Gala

variety.com:

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music For a half century, the hottest ticket in the music industry has been Clive Davis’ Pre-Grammy Gala, staged in partnership with the Recording Academy, that takes place the night before the Grammys.

From Beyonce to Barbra, from Jane Fonda to Jay-Z to Nancy Pelosi, the show has a completely unique guest list and roster of performers that reflect both the past year and the past several decades of popular music.

Every year’s show is unique, but the 2025 edition will be even more so: Not only is it the party’s 50th anniversary, it has been reimagined as a benefit for recovery from the wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles this month. “It’s going to be a wonderful, incredible night of music, with fundraising for the right cause,” Davis, 92, tells Variety. “The music is what has made this such a unique night over the past 50 years, and there’s never been a strict formula.

It’s not only about the best of every genre of music — Grammy nominees or not — but about putting together artists that have never, ever performed together.” Trying to select the five best of those unique duets is an impossible task, but Davis selected five of his favorites for us — and then added some more. Aretha Franklin and Alicia Keys “Think” 2003 “Two or three years after Alicia Keys blazed her way into superstardom, she and I were having a chat.