The veteran producer of the Grammy Awards is offering an apology to Metallica and Shirley Caesar after a technical glitch and a misprint that flawed their presence on the show. The mic for Metallica's James Hetfield wasn't originally working when the band took the stage to perform with Lady Gaga, and Caesar, a lifetime attainment award honoree, was confounded during the televised custom when a photo of another gospel star, CeCe Winans, was shown in place of her during a montage clip.
One Risk Factor Of A Live Television
Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich said earlier that lead singer James Hetfield was "incensed" over the technical accident that left him without a working microphone for the band's Grammy duet with Lady Gaga. You can't hear Hetfield's verses for the first half of the Sunday performance of Moth Into Flame. He, in the end, moved over to share Gaga's microphone for the rest of the song.
Ulrich told Grammy host James Corden on Corden's The Late Late Show on Wednesday that Hetfield was manic about the mess. He said Hetfield is typically a "chill guy," but it "was not for fun" in the dressing room after the set. Ulrich said the band "struggled through it" and some people told him after that even with the mistake, the performance was "great."
Ehrlich Has Heard A Different Story From His Crew About The Problem
"My folks said that my mic cable was connected," he said. "My men's theory was that... one of the extras [on stage] unintentionally kicked the cable that was connected to the mic." Still, the result was Hetfield's singing couldn't be heard for the first part of the song."
Visibly, we apologize to the band," Ehrlich said, calling the disaster "awful." He added that he's with Metallica for years, so "for me" to see that happen upsets him. In the side of Caesar, the gospel legend, Ehrlich had a better comprehension of what occurred. When preparing for a clip to run on her for the show, footage of a classic Caesar, Winans and Whitney Houston concert was used, and Winans was wrongly shown.
Ehrlich said he usually checks such shots but didn't get a luck to this year since he was busy with the show and the Recording Academy's tribute to the Bee Gees, which taped in Los Angeles on Tuesday and will air later.
Caeser Says "Thank You" To Ehrlich Apology
"We obviously want to apologize to Shirley Caesar," he said. "It's unfortunate that happened." Caeser released a speech Wednesday thanking Ehrlich for the apology and added, "these things happen sometimes."Ehrlich was also unfulfilled about the mistakes that may have overshadowed some of the great performances that occurred on the show, including Beyoncé, Bruno Mars, and Adele, who had her own setback when she resumed her tribute to George Michael.
"When you do a three-and-a-half-hour live show, it's fraught with danger," he said. "It was an audacious show in many ways." Ehrlich has produced the Grammys for years and has also shaped other events, including the Emmy Awards.
