New Zealand singer Lorde will compete against Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z, Childish Gambino, and Bruno Mars for Album Of The Year at the 2018 Grammys, but she was the only artist within that group not offered a solo performance, reports Variety. Citing "sources close to the situation," the publication states that Lorde was approached to perform with other artists at the show, which one source claims was a tribute to Tom Petty. If this is the case, she would have also been the only AOTY candidate not performing her own music.
Lorde reportedly turned down the collaborative performance, and therefore will not perform at all at Sunday's Grammy ceremony.
Lorde is the only woman nominated in the AOTY category. Last week, her mother tweeted an excerpt from a New York Times article which pointed to the uneven ratio of men to women who have been nominated. "Of the 899 people to be nominated for Grammy awards in the past six years, only nine percent were women," it reads.
Artists who will take the stage to perform at the 2018 Grammys include, Rihanna, DJ Khaled, Sam Smith, Lady Gaga, Kesha, SZA, Logic, Khalid, Alessia Cara, Kendrick Lamar, Bruno Mars, and Childish Gambino. At this time, Jay-Z, whose 4:44 project is nominated for Album Of The Year, is not listed as a performer.