Grammys 2014: What time are the Grammy Awards? A long time

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Crew members return from a lunch break at rehearsals for the Grammy Awards telecast. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Grammy executive producer Ken Ehrlich, center, backstage with Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day, right, and Miranda Lambert. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Seats are marked and ready at Staples Center. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Grammy executive producer Ken Ehrlich, left, talks with Neil Portnow, president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Grammy executive producer Ken Ehrlich. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Performers and crew members on stage. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Miranda Lambert and Billie Joe Armstrong rehearse. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

By Christy Khoshaba

Jan. 25, 2014 1 PM PT

This year’s Grammy Awards will be broadcast live on Sunday from 8 to 11:30 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time on CBS.

Three and a half hours, huh? And a 2½-hour pre-telecast ceremony to boot? Well, the Grammy Awards show is chock-full of star-studded performances. And like every year, the performances are all about the collaborations.

LIVE posting on the Grammy red carpet, awards

Case in point: French electronica duo Daft Punk, with vocalist Pharrell Williams and guitarist Nile Rodgers, will team up with R&B sensation Stevie Wonder. The musical act will be the first live television performance for Daft Punk since 2008.

Add to that a performance from musical superstar Beyonce — another televised first in honor of her hush-hush-released self-titled album, which, by the way, shattered iTunes records when it came out in December.

FULL COVERAGE: Grammy nominations 2014

And don’t forget the evening’s performance from the Beatles’ Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. The pair will receive the Recording Academy’s lifetime achievement award the day before the telecast.

The day after the telecast, a television special will be filmed, featuring McCartney and Starr as well as the Beatles’ first appearance on CBS’ “The Ed Sullivan Show.” The special, titled “The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles,” will air at 8 p.m. Feb. 9, exactly 50 years after the Sullivan performance.

Other collaborations on the bill include heavy-metal band Metallica with classical Chinese pianist Lang Lang; hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar with alternative rock band Imagine Dragons; pop starlet Sara Bareilles with legendary singer-songwriter Carole King; R&B artist Robin Thicke with rock band Chicago, edgy pop singer Pink with indie pop band fun.’s Nate Ruess. Plus, there will be a pop starburst of Lorde, Katy Perry and Taylor Swift.

As to whether these pairings are head-scratchers or absolutely electrifying, you be the judge of that.

TIMELINE: Grammy Awards through the years

Think there are too many acts to remember? Let our photo gallery of Grammy performers provide an outline. Pop quiz: Who is performing with Daft Punk on stage? Come on, you know it. (Hint: See paragraph three.) And on the topic of curious pairings, check out our photo gallery of the most unexpected collaborations in music here.

With all these names in the music industry, it seems as though the Grammy nominees reach far and wide.

Rap mogul Jay Z picked up nine nominations this year, including one for rap album, yet none for solos in major categories. Meanwhile, rapper and producer duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis scored seven nods, including album of the year for their work “The Heist.” See our complete list of nominees here.

Vying for the night’s record of the year is Daft Punk & Pharrell Williams for “Get Lucky,” Imagine Dragons for “Radioactive,” Lorde for “Royals,” Bruno Mars for “Locked Out of Heaven” and Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell for “Blurred Lines.”

PHOTOS: Grammy nominations snubs and surprises

Still, some artists were snubbed, as The Times’ music blog Pop & Hiss notes. Hip-hop maven Drake was beat out for album of the year by his brethren Kendrick Lamar, while Justin Timberlake’s successful “The 20/20 Experience” also didn’t make it to that category. And not one nomination arose for tabloid magnet Miley Cyrus.

Aside from the pop and hip-hop genres, rock and R&B need attention too. The Times’ Randall Roberts says that rock music was shut out of major categories and that the genre itself is in need of a lift. Meanwhile, The Times’ Gerrick D. Kennedy says alternative R&B is largely overlooked in Grammy nominations.

Switching it up to jazz, blues and classical music, tune into the Grammy pre-telecast ceremony from 1 to 3:30 p.m. Pacific time, streamed at grammy.com/live. We’ll have a live blog of what it all means by The Times’ Todd Martens here on Pop & Hiss.

Ensembles like Roomful of Teeth, La Santa Cecilia and Summer Horns will give performances to kick off the Grammy Awards. Multiple-Grammy winner Cyndi Lauper will host the ceremony and help present awards in approximately 70 categories.

BALLOT: Cast your Grammy Awards vote

As you crank up your jams on the big night, click on over to our Grammys play-at-home ballot to cast your votes in the major categories.

Then check back with us Grammy night and the morning after to see how you did. We’ll have full coverage of the Grammys, including red carpet arrivals, show highlights and best and worst moments.

For now, see unforgettable moments in our timeline of Grammy Awards through the years, brimming with facts. Did you know … oh, OK, we’ll stop with the quiz thing. Just enjoy.

ALSO:

FULL COVERAGE: Grammy Awards 2014

TIMELINE: Grammy Awards through the years

BALLOT: Cast your Grammy Awards vote