Grammys Producer Makes Bold Admission About Justin Bieber's Stand-Out Performance

Justin Bieber delivered one of this year’s most talked-about Grammys moments when he performed during Sunday night’s ceremony – not just because of his scantily-clad appearance on stage (debuting a new tattoo in honour of wife Hailey in the process), but also the way he accompanied himself on the guitar and loop pedals.

Since this year’s awards show aired, executive producer Ben Winston has been lifting the lid on how some of its stand-out moments, including The Biebs’ performance, came to be.

During an interview with Rolling Stone, he explained that each act was given an hour and a half of rehearsal time on the Grammys stage to make sure they had every detail nailed down before the ceremony – but the Canadian star only used a fraction of it.

“He  came to the stage, he did it once,” Ben recalled. “It was brilliant. We are seven minutes into his hour-and-a-half rehearsal. And he goes, ‘How’d it look to you? You happy with it?’ And I was like, ‘Oh, my God. It looked beautiful. I loved it.’ And he went, ‘OK, fantastic. See you Sunday!’”

In the end, Ben cajoled the As Long As You Love Me singer into running through it one extra time before he headed backstage after just 15 minutes.

What’s more, he also claimed that Justin’s decision to perform in boxers and socks wasn’t something he had planned from the get-go.

“I don’t think he decided what the outfit would be until he walked onstage,” Ben added, which perhaps explains why he decided to wear... well... next to nothing.

Elsewhere in the interview, Ben revealed that Lady Gaga had only landed in LA from Japan the day before the event, and it was touch and go whether she’d be able to perform at all.

“There was one point a few weeks before the show that we thought we might have to lose her from the show, ’cause she just was like, ‘I just don’t see how I can’,” he explained, pointing to the fact that Gaga was performing a string of shows in Japan just days before the Grammys.

“So it was amazing that not only did she do it, but I think she brought one of the most iconic performances.”

Check out our full round-up of this year’s stand-out Grammy Awards moments here.