Grammys Host Trevor Noah Talks Battling “Heroes” Chappelle, Chris Rock, Wanda Sykes for Comedy Album

Trevor Noah is returning to host the Grammy Awards for a fourth time — however that is the primary time he’s internet hosting as a nominee.

Noah earned his first nomination for finest comedy album on the 2020 present with Son of Patricia, shedding to Dave Chappelle’s Sticks & Stones. He’s battling the comedy king once more on Sunday, alongside different icons: Chris Rock (Selective Outrage) and Wanda Sykes (I’m An Entertainer). All of their specials aired on Netflix; Sarah Silverman’s Somebody You Love, on HBO, spherical out the nominees.

“I’m nominated alongside my heroes: Wanda Sykes, Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle. I don’t ever take these moments with no consideration. I believe to myself how loopy it’s to even be in the identical class as these individuals,” Noah tells The Hollywood Reporter. “Once I was pondering of [doing] comedy, Dave Chappelle was already an completed comic. Once I was pondering of beginning to perhaps inform any person a joke, Chris Rock was already one of many largest comedians on the earth, and the identical goes for Wanda Sykes. So I’ve by no means been any person who’s in a rush to win or to be considered one of the best at something. I’m actually, actually, actually not even saying this simply to be humble or something. I’m actually blissful and grateful to simply be in that firm.”

The 39-year-old, who’s in competitors with acts of their 50s, provides: “I virtually need to savor that much more as a result of what an expertise, what a journey to be on. That’s simply mind-blowing for me. These are my mentors and my associates. It is a surreal expertise.”

Noah is nominated with I Want You Would, whereas Chappelle — who has received finest comedy album 4 instances — is up with What’s In A Title? “I’m glad that it’s occurring in my fourth yr [hosting the awards], as a result of I believe in my first yr, that may’ve been an emotional overload. Being nominated for a Grammy is so momentous that I don’t understand how you might deal with internet hosting a present on the similar time. And internet hosting the present is a lot stress and there’s a lot that’s occurring dwell that you just don’t need to be distracted by this concept that you could be or could not win an award. That is stands out as the good time for it to occur.”

Noah, a two-time Emmy winner, may notch his first Grammy win — and others may additionally set information on Sunday evening. SZA’s SOS may turn out to be the primary album by a Black girl to win album of the yr in 25 years, whereas Taylor Swift may turn out to be the primary artist to win the highest award 4 instances with Midnights. And others may win their first-ever Grammy after years of releasing music, together with Lana Del Rey, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, Victoria Monét and extra.

“I might hope that one thing like that might occur. Any time historical past could be made, I’m at all times in favor of it as a result of I at all times assume, ‘In the event you can simply knock down that first domino, then hopefully the remaining observe.’ And so I’m at all times rooting for individuals to interrupt information,” says Noah, who hosted final yr when Beyoncé turned essentially the most embellished artist in Grammy historical past together with her thirty second win. 

“I’m rooting for Beyoncé to interrupt essentially the most wins. I’m rooting for Taylor Swift to win essentially the most albums. I’m rooting for SZA to turn out to be the primary—. There’s simply one thing magical about seeing any person’s journey culminate within the making of historical past. What’s robust about these classes is that just about each single individual in them is somebody who I imagine deserves to win that award. And that’s the one factor that sucks about awards is that not everyone can win,” he provides.

Noah says he doesn’t vote for the winners, which makes his internet hosting gig a bit simpler: “I’m not a part of the voting contingency, and I’m really glad as a result of then no person can come as much as me and say, ‘Who did you vote for? What did you do?’ Fortunately, I don’t have that stress on my shoulders.”

However Noah is aware of a factor or two about shedding awards: Although he received his first Emmy in 2017 —  excellent brief kind selection sequence for The Each day Present: Between the Scenes — he has misplaced excellent selection speak sequence 5 instances from 2018 to 2022, all to HBO’s Final Week Tonight With John Oliver. However final yr the Tv Academy modified its guidelines and moved Final Week Tonight into the scripted selection class, and Noah joked concerning the British-American comic onstage when gathering the Emmy earlier this month: “I informed you we’d beat John Oliver if he wasn’t in our class.”

The triumph for The Each day Present With Trevor Noah was noteworthy for a number of causes: It marked the primary win for the Comedy Central present since Jon Stewart’s closing yr as host and the win was for Noah’s final season.

“It felt like a lovely shock,” he says. “It’s additional particular as a result of oftentimes you win the award and then you definately simply return to creating the present. You virtually don’t have time to essentially ruminate on the time that you just’ve spent making the factor or on the individuals that you just’ve made it with and what the journey means to you. And having the ability to win the award after leaving the present and likewise having the time after profitable the award to simply sit with that feeling is absolutely, actually one thing that I admire as a result of it permits me to do one thing that I believe most human beings don’t have the flexibility to do, and that’s simply course of one thing actually stunning and fantastic that they’ve skilled of their lives. 

“It’s the way in which some {couples} are fortunate sufficient to go on a honeymoon after their wedding ceremony, and different individuals simply must get married after which simply keep it up with their lives. And that is simply how life is. And for many who do have a second to understand it, I do assume it’s a beautiful blessing,” he provides.

Noah says he’s prepping for Sunday’s Grammys — which can air dwell on CBS from the Crypto.com Enviornment in Los Angeles — by listening to a playlist of the nominees and performers, which incorporates SZA, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Olivia Rodrigo, Joni Mitchell, Billy Joel, Luke Combs, Burna Boy and Travis Scott.

He’s additionally conscious of the controversy about if comedians ought to proceed internet hosting awards reveals following Jo Koy’s fumble on the current Golden Globes. Kevin Hart warned, “These gigs aren’t good gigs for comics”; Whoopi Goldberg stated internet hosting awards present could be “brutal”; David Spade known as the gig a “no-win scenario”; and Michael Che stated that “comedians ought to boycott internet hosting award reveals.”

Although Noah has constructed his profession doing stand-up comedy, he says that form of efficiency act is completely different to internet hosting an awards present. “I believe stand-up comedy is a efficiency that’s curated not only for, however by the comic, for their very own viewers. And so it’s a really insular expertise. It’s one the place you’re in whole management and most significantly, you’re the purpose that the persons are there. An awards present is completely different as a result of you aren’t the rationale individuals have come, more often than not. And everybody that’s there within the viewers is there predominantly as a result of they’re hoping to take residence an award for his or her physique of labor. So I believe that makes the gig completely different.

“I believe it implies that it isn’t the identical ability units, and I believe that implies that the result is rather less predictable. As a result of should you’re a comic and also you’re onstage and also you’re not doing properly, you may swap issues up, you may no matter. You are able to do no matter you need to do. You’ll be able to’t try this at an awards present,” he provides. “So it’s a really completely different self-discipline and I don’t take that with no consideration as a result of it’s troublesome in a really completely different form of technique to simply doing stand-up.”