Inside Clive Davis' annual pre-Grammy gala at the Beverly Hilton

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One mode to grant your 93-year-old host: by calling him a “f— gangster” who’ll “slit your pharynx for a deed record.”

That’s however Monte Lipman big-upped Clive Davis connected Saturday nighttime astatine the Beverly Hilton, wherever Davis had convened an invite-only assemblage of celebrities and music-industry insiders for his yearly night-before-the-Grammys gala. Lipman, who runs Republic Records, was determination to person the Recording Academy’s Industry Icon grant on with his member and concern partner, Avery; clearly, the commendation had gotten him feeling each lukewarm and fuzzy astir the record-biz machers who paved his way.

An incomplete database of stars successful the Hilton’s ballroom for Saturday’s soiree: Joni Mitchell, Nancy Pelosi, Stevie Wonder, Colman Domingo, Frankie Valli, Martha Stewart, Lana Del Rey, Karol G, Brandi Carlile, Bill Maher, Teyana Taylor, Gladys Knight, Bryan Cox, Jeff Goldblum, Max Martin and — speaking of record-biz machers — Motown laminitis Berry Gordy, who astatine 96 had to person been the lone idiosyncratic astatine the enactment with much acquisition connected him than Davis.

At slightest a fewer of these luminaries had come, nary doubt, to spot the Lipmans prime up their prize; among the many, galore successes they’ve racked up successful caller years see blockbusters by Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen, Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, Post Malone and the lovable cartoon assassins of “KPop Demon Hunters.”

But mostly folks had travel to schmooze and to instrumentality successful the amusement Davis had arranged.

As always, the amusement featured a blend of beloved old-timers and ascendant youngsters, including 3 of the nominees for the Grammys’ champion caller creator award: Sombr, pouting extravagantly done a pretend-sleazy “12 to 12”; Olivia Dean, downright luminous arsenic a horn conception added immoderate plaything to “Man I Need”; and Alex Warren, who’s opening to look similar helium whitethorn ne'er privation to sing “Ordinary” again.

Sombr spins Olivia Dean during his performance.

Clipse and John Legend performed “The Birds Don’t Sing,” from the rap duo’s “Let God Sort Em Out,” which is up for medium of the twelvemonth astatine Sunday’s Grammys ceremony. The women of “KPop Demon Hunters’” Huntr/x turned up to sing “Golden,” which is nominated for opus of the year.

MGK and Jelly Roll tag-teamed an homage to the precocious Ozzy Osbourne, portion Jennifer Hudson saluted the precocious Roberta Flack; her typically virtuosic rendition of “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” brought the country to arsenic adjacent to quiescent arsenic it got each night.

Pusha T of Clipse, left, and John Legend perform.

There were besides tributes to 2 surviving legends: Bernie Taupin and Art Garfunkel. For the former, Darren Criss sang “Bennie and the Jets” — conscionable 1 of the classics Taupin co-wrote with Elton John — past brought retired Laufey for a amazingly frisky instrumentality connected John and Kiki Dee’s disco-era “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.” (Free idea: Somebody formed Criss and Laufey successful a reboot of “Grease.”)

To grant Garfunkel, the state duo Dan + Shay performed “Mrs. Robinson” earlier throwing to the 84-year-old himself, who sauntered onstage successful a tuxedo and Phillies shot cap, sat down connected a stool and — aft having work a spot of poesy scrawled connected the backmost connected an envelope — closed the amusement with a touching if somewhat wobbly travel crossed “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”

Behold much pictures from Saturday’s event: