Names and faces

■ Chris Martin admits that Coldplay’s latest album could have sounded terrible if it wasn’t for one person — mastering engineer Emily Lazar. Like the musical magician she is, Lazar added her special touch to the band’s eighth album “Everyday Life,” which was released in late 2019 and is now competing for the top prize at the 2021 Grammy Awards. Martin describes the universal and political album as “a patchwork quilt of opinions and thoughts about life and humans and the planet and how much we love Nigerian music and how much we love gospel (music) and how much we love, like, old-fashioned, northern European church music.” “All these weird things and sampling from voice memos — in the wrong hands it could have sounded awful.” The 49-year-old Lazar came in to save the day — a role she has played on thousands of albums and a reason she’s making history at this year’s Grammy Awards. For her work on Coldplay’s album, she shares a nomination with Martin and friends for album of the year. Lazar is also the mastering engineer on HAIM’s “Women In Music Pt. III” and Jacob Collier’s “Djesse Vol. 3” — both nominated for album of the year — making Lazar a triple nominee in the Grammys’ biggest category. “You kind of go into a little bit of shock after the first one. You’re not even focused for the next one because you think, ‘That’s it,’ ” said Lazar, who first made history at the 2019 Grammys when she became the first woman to win best engineered album (nonclassical) for her work on Beck’s “Colors.” “By the time we got to the third one, I almost had to check myself and say, ‘Why are they listing all the records that I worked on?’”

■ Original “Saved by the Bell” star Dustin Diamond is undergoing chemotherapy treatments after being diagnosed with cancer, according to a spokesman. Diamond, best known for playing Screech on the hit ’90s sitcom, was hospitalized earlier this month in Florida. Last week, his team disclosed he had cancer. “Dustin has completed his first round of chemo and his next round is being scheduled. He will also begin his physical therapy soon,” the actor’s spokesman, Roger Paul, said in a statement. “Dustin is looking forward to spending more time with his girlfriend, playing his bass guitar/video games, as well as making videos for his fans on social media,” Paul added. “Saved by the Bell” (originally “Good Morning, Miss Bliss”) aired from 1987 to 1993, and its spinoffs included “Saved by the Bell: The College Years” and “Saved by the Bell: The New Class,” both of which Diamond starred in. Diamond has appeared on reality TV shows, made a sex tape and produced a tell-all documentary on Lifetime TV called “The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story.” In 2015, he was sentenced to serve 4 months in jail for his part in a Wisconsin barroom stabbing.

Diamond

Lazar