Importing Grammys

A concert featuring past Grammy winners including Michael Bolton, Leo Sayer, Jody Watley and Richard Marx took place June 8 in Chengdu, China.

Other artists on the bill included Chinese singer Song Zuying and pianist Lang Lang.

In attendance was Neil Portnow, president and chief executive of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, which gives out the Grammys.

In an interview with China Daily, Portnow says the academy wants to extend the Grammys to China.

“We know that China has thousands of years of musical history,” he told the news service. “It’s very diverse. We are very interested in Chinese music and Chinese musicians.”

In addition to the Grammy concert, Portnow hopes to establish a company in China to hold official Grammy events, and will hold an exhibition of Chinese music at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles later this year.