Grammys 2024 | Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder, Dionne Warwick rule at Clive Davis’ pre-Grammy gala

Clive Davis held his annual star-studded pre-Grammys gala Saturday at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California

The night began with a rare sight: tennis champion Serena Williams was flustered. “I’m a little nervous... I can’t breathe,” she said through an exasperated smile. “I’m usually really good at this.”

The overwhelming task was not opening the famed Clive Davis pre-Grammys gala at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California — though that no doubt comes with some social pressure. It was introducing its opening act, one of her favorite groups of all time: Green Day.

An enthusiasm for music fueled the night, as to be expected. But it was a concluding performance by Gladys Knight, Dionne Warwick, and Stevie Wonder that really stole the show — for those still in the room after 1 a.m. “Music is love,” Wonder told the crowd before launching into a singalong of Warwick’s “What the World Needs Now.”

Knight first emerged to sing “The Way We Were / Try to Remember,” before being joined by Warwick for “That’s What Friends Are For,” which Wonder closed with a harmonica solo.

About an hour earlier, Jon Platt, Sony Music Publishing chairman and CEO, was honored with the 2024 Grammy Salute to Industry Icons Award at the star-studded event and used his speech to remind those in attendance that “it always takes a village,” to move the needle in the music industry. “No one does it alone.”

Across his career, Platt has been celebrated for improving the ways in which hip-hop and R&B artists are compensated as songwriters — working with Usher, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Drake, Rihanna and Pharrell Williams to name a few. “Jon cares about songwriters of all generations,” Recording Academy CEO and President Harvey Mason jr. said in his introduction to Platt. “He’s worked tirelessly.”

Davis’ gala, the incredibly popular and equally exclusive event, returned for the first time since the 2020 pandemic last year — and in 2024, attendees were just as excited as ever.