Finalists selected to perform at Grammys with Foo Fighters

Fifteen musicians have been chosen, through voting by the YouTube community, to perform as part of the "Foo Fighters orchestra" when the band plays "The Pretender" at the Grammy Awards ceremony on Sunday (February 10th). Three of those musicians have also been selected to compete for the "featured performer" spot in the orchestra through the "My Grammy Moment" contest sponsored by YouTube and CBS-TV. The top three finalists are 28-year-old violinist Ann Marie Calhoun from Virginia, 23-year-old violinist Brian Fitzgerald from Pennsylvania and 27-year-old cellist Tara Klein from Ohio. Voters can register their choice for the grand prize winner at youtube.com/mygrammymoment.

Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl explained how the orchestra will be incorporated into the song: [ Click to listen if you have a backstage pass] "The song 'The Pretender' has these little breakdowns with this string quartet, so I think what's gonna happen is, at some point in the song, it's gonna kick into like a full-on orchestra, and then it just turns into this climactic thing, with all of us playing at the same time. We'll just all get together and hope it works out."

Online voting for the featured performer will take place from now through February 10th at 8:59 p.m. ET via YouTube. The winner will be announced live onstage just before the Foo Fighters performance.

Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones will accompany the band and the orchestra as special guest conductor and will also arrange a special version of "The Pretender" for the performance.

The segment will take place outdoors across from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The 50th annual Grammy Awards will be broadcast live from the Staples Center on Sunday night by CBS, starting at 8 p.m.

Foo Fighters have been nominated for five Grammy Awards this year, including Album of the Year for its latest effort, Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, plus Record of the Year for "The Pretender."

(Special thanks to TK101 Mobile/Pensacola)
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