McCartney, Clarkson debut at Grammys

Old-school talent and contemporary favorites meet on “The 48th Annual Grammy Awards” (7 p.m., CBS). Kelly Clarkson will make her Grammy debut. So will Paul McCartney.

The former Beatle has won 13 Grammy Awards, as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award (1990) and President’s Merit Award (2004), but he has never sung on the show.

Clarkson may owe her fame to her status as the first-ever winner of “American Idol,” but her relationship with the talent showcase has grown complicated of late as she has tried to distance herself from the Fox series and become a star in her own right. What better way than to appear on a show going head to head with “Idol”?

Tonight’s Grammy Awards will feature an all-star salute to Sly Stone, an influential artist and former disc jockey whose work with Sly and the Family Stone presaged the funk and disco sounds of the 1970s. Recording at a time when society and music seemed to be dividing along racial lines, Sly fronted an integrated band whose hits appealed to both blacks and whites.

Tonight’s other scheduled performers include Mariah Carey, John Legend, Madonna with Gorillaz, Bruce Springsteen, U2 and Mary J. Blige, Coldplay, Faith Hill and Keith Urban, Christina Aguilera and Herbie Hancock, Sugarland, and Jamie Foxx with Kanye West.

¢ “American Idol” (7 p.m., Fox) arrives in Los Angeles and not a moment too soon. The convocation of gold-ticket holders means that the painful, spiteful audition phase has been concluded and the ratio of bad performances to good finally will decline.

This means that the judges also will get to evaluate talent instead of averting their eyes from masochists and exhibitionists. And viewers also will be spared the sight of contestants blurting bleeped-out obscenities for our “entertainment.”

Tonight’s other highlights

¢ High noon in the land of vast waistbands on “The Biggest Loser: Special Edition” (7 p.m., NBC).

¢ The body of a murdered teen who had suffered from comic-book delusions yields clues on “Bones” (8 p.m., Fox).

¢ In the midst of crisis, Sawyer’s indifference speaks volumes on “Lost” (8 p.m., ABC).

¢ Kathleen Turner guest stars on “Law & Order” (9 p.m., NBC).

¢ New insights into the creatures on “Invasion” (9 p.m., ABC).