After the 2012 Grammy Awards, which were quickly revamped into a tribute to Whitney Houston in light of the singer's shocking death, the 2013 show is going to focus on the nominees.

"We did what we had to do for Whitney in a respectful and loving way," LL Cool J told us on the red carpet. "And this year it’s about these nominees here tonight and the superstars and legends who are in the building."

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It wouldn't be surprising if you assumed the monster success behind Fun.'s "We Are Young" with Janelle Monáe was the calculated work of a studio, but that's not the case.

"It wasn’t about a record label putting two hot artists together," Fun. member Andrew Dost told CNN on the red carpet. "Janelle’s an artist and just wanted to be a part of the song."

Indeed, Monáe told us on Sunday that she "didn’t know it was going to be such a big song, I just knew I loved it."

To Monáe, "We Are Young" is "cross-generational," but for Dost, Nate Ruess and Jack Antonoff the song "was a little more negative, and suddenly it just had this positive anthemic effect on people."

The band, which is one of the lead nominees at the 55th ceremony, is made up of "great guys," Monáe said. "[They] deserve every accoalade."