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GRAMMYS 2018: Brooklyn Native Jay-Z Honored With Salute To Industry Icons

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – The biggest names in music are gearing up for Sunday night's 60th annual GRAMMY Awards, which are back in the Big Apple for the first time in 15 years.

Brooklyn native Jay-Z was honored with the GRAMMY Salute to Industry Icons on Saturday night.

"I can't imagine a better person to be honored, and particularly doing it in New York just makes it all the better to me," songwriter Jimmy Jam said. "It was a really great year for hip-hop music."

"He's terrific, and I was just saying the last time I think I saw him was – in all places – Dubai," said Broadway composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Web Extra: 2018 Grammy Awards: List Of Nominees In Top Categories

Jay-Z and Kendrick Lamar are the top contenders – with eight and seven GRAMMY nominations respectively. Many of this year's nominations are coming from the hip-hop and R&B genres.

Clive Davis, the so-called "Godfather of the GRAMMYs," hosted an invitation-only pre-GRAMMY gala at the Sheraton hotel in Times Square. He called the night a tribute to New York City.

"Tonight, there are no winners, there are no losers," he said. "There's just the wonders of music to celebrate."

For the past 15 years, the show has been in Los Angeles.

"To be here at this party tonight is pretty cool. Being in the country genre, we don't necessarily get to hang out with some of these uber celebrities – so this is kind of cool," Lady Antebellum singer Charles Kelley said.

Luis Fonsi is nominated for Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Vocal Pop Duo for his hit "Despacito."

"I'm so honored, I'm proud, I think this is huge. It's not really about me or anybody involved in this particular song; it's about just Latin music -- you know, to be able to break that language barrier," he said.

First time GRAMMY-nominee rapper Logic was expected to perform at Saturday night's gala. He's known for his hit song about suicide prevention.

You can watch all the GRAMMY action on CBS2 this Sunday night. Preshow coverage starts at 6:30 p.m.

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