Sennheiser ensures GRAMMY Awards run smoothly

This years Grammy Awards featured performances from many different artists, and Sennheiser were chosen by the majority of these artists to ensure their performances ran smoothly. This years awards went down in history as the second highest rated telecast since the show’s inception in 1959 and it was imperative that the live sound was perfect throughout. 

Adele, the main winner of the night taking home the most prestigious awards such as Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album for her sophomore album, 21, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and best Best Short Form Music Video for ‘Rolling in the Deep’, and Best Pop Solo Performance for ‘Someone Like You’. Her performance was the most highly anticipated of the evening, it was one of her first live performances having undergone surgery on her throat late last year, and it was a Sennheiser SKM 200-XP wireless handheld transmitter with MMK 965-1 capsule that belted out her soulful voice to the audience. Dave McDonald, Adele’s front of house engineer, said, "It’s a great microphone. We started using it just after the Brit Awards in February of last year, and she’s loved it ever since." He added, "Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the equipment we use is Sennheiser- and the point one percent is Neumann." Her stellar performance of ‘Rolling in the Deep’ brought the audience to their feet for the longest standing ovation of the evening.

Another big winner was rock band Foo Fighters who performed twice on the night, both on the stage with David Guetta, Chris Brown, Lil’ Wayn and deadmau5, and outside the arena in the Nokia Plaza adjacent to the Staples Centre where the Awards were held. Frontman Dave Grohl made use of his usual Sennheiser MD 431 II vocal mic on both songs. Ian Beveridge, Foo Fighters’ longtime monitor engineer, spoke highly of Dave’s vocal mic. "I love that microphone to death. That microphone is so unbelievably flat in the high-end, and incredibly stable with moisture and temperature," he explained. "During their shows, we used to have terrible instability problems with other microphones, and I was going through maybe four, five or six microphones a show with Dave, swapping them out. Now, I keep the 431 for the whole show. I can’t remember the last time there was any feedback during Foo Fighters’ show. And these Grammy performances were no exception."

Bruno Mars also performed on the night using a Sennheiser SKM 2000-XP with MMD 945-1 capsule. James Berry, monitor engineer for Mars commented, "Sennheiser products have great sound and reliability. We could not have done it without Sennheiser. I’m always grateful for their gear and support in making it happen under the stress of a live event like the Grammys." The show’s host, LL Cool J also used Sennheiser throughout the show, taking advantage of their SKM 5200. Alica Keys sang a duet with Bonnie Raitt in memory of Etta James using a SKM 5200-II vocal mic with MD 5235 capsule. Other uses of the Sennheiser mics were witnessed during performances by Katy Perry, Carrie Underwood, Tony Bennett, Glen Campbell and Blake Shelton.