Benny Blanco, Gracie Abrams, and Post Malone Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Clive Davis’s Pre-Grammy Gala

This year’s Grammy Awards celebrations were muted due to the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles. Many of the weeklong events leading up to the 67th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday were canceled, but the legendary Clive Davis Pre-Grammy Gala forged ahead and was repurposed into a philanthropic event to raise money for the MusiCares’ Fire Relief Fund. The iconic music mogul carried on with his night-before extravaganza in Beverly Hills on Saturday evening—this year marking its 50th-anniversary bash—with a star-studded list of guests in attendance that included Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Keys, Post Malone, Machine Gun Kelly, and Gracie Abrams.

“This one is a little different,” said Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, which co-hosted the event, in his opening remarks. He went on to acknowledge why the Grammys Awards and the Clive Davis Gala decided to move forward. “We knew we could use this platform to raise awareness and celebrate resiliency.”

Mason Jr. announced that since launching wildfire relief efforts, the Recording Academy has already raised and distributed almost $5 million in aid, with Davis personally pledging a six-figure donation.

Due to the tonal shift of this year’s gala, the red carpet arrivals were scrapped, and the soirée, which is infamous for running past midnight, concluded at 11:30 p.m. Although the glitz was toned down, the atmosphere inside the Beverly Hilton ballroom was electric due to the live entertainment.

“The performances!” Lopez told Vogue about what she loves the most about the Clive Davis bash as she made her way to her table accompanied by her hairstylist, Andrew Fitzsimons, and longtime manager, Benny Medina. Among the evening’s lineup of performers were Barry Manilow, Michael Bublé, Joni Mitchell, Samara Joy, Chris and Rich Robinson of The Black Crowes and Malone, who is nominated for seven Grammys on Sunday. He crooned his fan-favorite hit “Sunflower” and ended the song by encouraging the audience to “please take care of the folks out there kicking ass on the front lines—the first responders.”

Benson Boone, vying for his first Grammy in the best new artist category, also wowed the crowd with a roaring rendition of his chart-topper “Beautiful Things” and proudly showed off his signature backflip. Teddy Swims, nominated for best new artist as well, took to the stage and belted out his powerhouse tune “Lose Control.”

Davis began hosting the Pre-Grammy Gala in 1976, and since then, scoring an invite to the exclusive event is highly coveted. This year, a diverse group of luminaries attended, which included Jimmy Kimmel, who socialized with Gayle King and Jack Antonoff, while Charlie Puth chatted with Kelly. Meanwhile, U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi posed for some selfies, Shaboozey mingled with some friends, Paris Hilton was spotted with her parents, and music producer Benny Blanco (sans fiancée Selena Gomez) met up with Diplo.

“Here we are at Clive Davis’ bar mitzvah,” Kimmel joked in his speech ahead of introducing the 92-year-old Davis to the stage. The talk show host went on to praise the illustrious mogul for having the influence to draw “an interesting group of people” to his gala every year. “He’s a living legend.”