“It’s probably the most bitchin’ celebration of the 12 months,” Tom Hanks declared, welcoming Clive Davis to the stage. The celebration in query, Davis’s pre-Grammys gala, is, the truth is, simply that—a non-public evening practically as massive for the who’s who of Hollywood because the Grammys itself.

As is custom, it was set in a glitzy ballroom on the Beverly Hilton; the room’s plethora of chandeliers and illuminated partitions mimicked a purple starlit sky. It’s the sort of celebration the place even business professionals are struck by the caliber of the evening’s attendees. “I simply took an image with Lana Del Rey,” one visitor mentioned, beaming.

Del Rey’s attendance, as an illustration, is testimony to Clive Davis’s means to summon out even those that not often frequent the Grammy award present itself. The Honeymoon singer being simply one of many many faces that the starry-eyed bystanders lined up outdoors the lodge got here to see. Mariah Carey made an entrance shoulder-to-shoulder with singer Monica (talking of megastars you don’t see out daily!), whereas in the midst of the room, Carter Reum snapped images of spouse Paris Hilton and associates. Julia Garner, who waved timidly as Davis awarded the actor an onstage shout-out, attended in a vibrant purple robe. Noticed elsewhere have been Cher, Avril Lavigne, and Machine Gun Kelly.

As a lot of a spectacle because the visitor checklist itself, Davis’s Pre-Gala is thought to come back full of performances that almost rival the televised present. This 12 months, Serena Williams welcomed Inexperienced Day to the stage for a efficiency celebrating the rock band’s 30-year anniversary, and Davis himself introduced out Finest New Artist-nominated Ice Spice simply earlier than Lainey Wilson hit the stage to sing a rendition of Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Simply Ken.” Later got here performances from the Isley Brothers and extra as friends finally loved a dinner at their tables, the room buzzing with keen power to maintain the celebration, which had kicked off on the later night finish, going effectively into the evening.