Last year, when comedian Jon Stewart hosted the Grammys in Los Angeles' Staple's Center, his jokes were hit and miss. "I blame that on it being such an intimate venue," Stewart said of the 26,000-seat arena. He was kidding, of course.
"It was hard to make out any people in the crowd, except for Kid Rock," Stewart said during a telephone conference interview from Los Angeles. "I thought I could see him, but I couldn't tell. All I saw was his hat. I think this year I'll be armed with a megaphone."
Stewart will once more host the 44th annual Grammy Awards, which will air on CBS Wednesday, Feb. 27, at 7 p.m. on KUTV/Ch. 2.
Some of the nominees for Best Album include new rhythm-and-blues artist India.Arie ("Acoustic Soul"), folk pioneer Bob Dylan ("Love and Theft"), the soundtrack to "O Brother Where Art Thou?" and Irish rocker U2 ("Everything You Can't Leave Behind").
Song of the Year nominees include Train's "Drops of Jupiter," Alicia Keys' "Fallin,' " Nelly Furtado's "I'm Like a Bird," U2's "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" and India.Arie's "Video."
Stewart said he was flattered at being asked to host the show a second time. "Last year I think they were in a bind. The (National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences) had someone booked to host the show and apparently they got sick. I think everyone had other engagements and the Academy got down to the S's on the list and called me.
"Seriously, I am very grateful they liked working with me enough to call me back."
Stewart, who is the anchor of the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning Comedy Central hit "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," said his role as host is very clear with the broadcast. "I'm not there to draw too much attention to myself," he said. "I do have to pull back on some of the comedy because of that. I'm not supposed to overshadow U2 or Michael Jackson, although I don't think anyone could. So the actual pressure on me as a host is miniscule. If I can score some laughs and direct the show's traffic, I should be OK."
Last year, the big Grammy controversy was the teaming of openly gay Elton John with the lyrically homophobic rapper Eminem. This year, Stewart said that without that kind of controversy, he's not sure what kind of jokes he's going to be doing. "This year there's nothing of that magnitude. And like last year, the Grammy people are not telling me what I can joke about. There are no sacred cows."
Then, with a chuckle, he added, "Well, they did say I couldn't do any jokes about music."
When the topic of Sept. 11 came up, Stewart said, "I don't think we will understand anytime soon how long this will stay with us. I do, however, hope never to experience destruction of this magnitude again."
Stewart, who also made the New York Times Best-Sellers list for his book "Naked Pictures of Famous People," said he enjoyed hosting the Grammys last year. "It's good for CBS. The only thing I couldn't do last year was touch U2's fruit tray."
Aside from hobnobbing with U2 (one of Stewart's favorite groups), one of the highlights for Stewart last year was seeing Destiny's Child. "Actually, I only saw the tops of their heads as they were whisked by my dressing room door. I mean, I didn't really understand just how many people music stars carry around in their entourages. It's amazing."
Stewart, who has written books, screenplays and TV scripts, said that, ironically, music is an area where he lacks deep knowledge. "The Grammys, however, cover a wide range of music. And I've heard most of the more popular artists on the radio. So I'm at least a little familiar with their songs."
He did say, however, that he doesn't attend concerts anymore. "I'm at that age (38) where I don't look cool enough to go to those things. But I was a member of the Kiss Army and had a lot of Peter Frampton. I don't think anyone who grew up in my day could have lived without Frampton."
When asked about whether he's planning to do a comedy album, Stewart laughed and said, "I think I'll do a straight-forward rock album. You know, I'd like to do something I really suck at."
E-mail: scott@desnews.com