Green Day will be performing at the 52nd annual 2010 Grammy Awards in support of their gold certified album 21st Century Breakdown airing on CBS at 8:00 pm EST/PST on January 31st, 2010 at The Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The fifteen time nominees are up for "Best Rock Song" (21 Guns), "Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals" (21 Guns), and "Best Rock Album" (21st Century Breakdown). Performing with Green Day will be: Taylor Swift; The Black Eyed Peas; Beyonce; Lady Gaga; Pink; and Maxwell. Green Day last played "American Idiot" at the Grammys from same said album in 2005, an album revered as the bands best work to date, and winning "Best Rock Album" as well. "21 Guns" is an abstract statement on questioning our own personal role in the concept of fighting and warfare. Green Day has of recent been very politically aware and one of the only major label bands to have voiced discontent on the United States' role in the War in Iraq, and Afghanistan. American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown can easily be typecast as sister albums, as they both follow the political genre of the current era, and bring awareness of the issue to the pop punk genre.

Green Day began their career in 1987, releasing "1,000 Hours" in 1989 and "39/Smooth" in 1990. With the release of "Kerplunk" in 1992 the band started to get national attention and toured relentlessly in the United States and Europe. It wasn't until 1994 that Green Day found commercial success with their first major label album "Dookie" which has produced five hit singles, and won their first Grammy for "Best Alternative Album" in 1995. The band later released "Insomniac" in 1995 and "Nimrod" in 1997, both had singles that garnered attention but not to the extent of "Dookie". With the release of "American Idiot" in 2004, the band saw it become their most interesting, successful and socially aware album going from "snot-core" punk rock to mainstream success.