Grammy Awards nominees to be announced Dec. 5

Nominees for the 2015 Grammy Awards will be revealed on the morning of Dec. 5, with the exception of one category: the coveted album of the year.

The nominees for the top prize will come later that day when the Recording Academy debuts the new TV special, "A Very GRAMMY Christmas," airing on CBS at 9 p.m. EST. It will feature performances from Pharrell and Ariana Grande.

The Grammys first launched a televised concert announcing its main nominees in 2008, but Recording Academy CEO Neil Portnow said in an interview Thursday it was time to switch it up.

"We're freshening up, changing this up a little bit and the kickoff for Grammy season will still be getting our nominations out that day, albeit a little differently," he said.

The one-hour Christmas special will be hosted by rapper/actor LL Cool J and also will include Maroon 5, Tim McGraw and some others to be announced at a later date, show producer Ken Ehrlich said Thursday. It will tape Nov. 18 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

The nominees for album of the year will be announced toward the end of the program, Ehrlich said.

Grande, Pharrell and the others will perform their own hits and holiday songs, as well as discuss their favorite holiday moments and Grammy moments. All of the performers are Grammy winners except for Grande, who marked a breakthrough this year with a string of hits, including "Problem."

"If you ask any musical artist what their best Christmas gift would be, maybe eight out of 10 of them would say a Grammy nomination," Ehrlich said.

The 57th annual Grammy Awards will air live Feb. 8 from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It will include 83 categories.

This year's Grammys were handed out in January, with Daft Punk taking home album of the year for "Random Access Memories."