“And the Grammy goes to …” It’s music’s biggest night but according to reports the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards will keep artists waiting for an answer to that statement for a little while longer. Rolling Stone has reported that multiple sources have confirmed to them that the upcoming Grammy ceremony will be postponed to later this year due to COVID-19 concerns.
The Grammy ceremony was scheduled for Jan. 31 with The Daily Show‘s Trevor Noah set to host the event which is booked at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, but according to the Rolling Stone report there are currently discussions about rescheduling the event potentially to be held sometime in March.
The 2021 Grammys would have looked different than the traditional show. Last year’s event took place prior to the pandemic, but this year it was expected that there would be no audience with only presenters and performers allowed to attend and most likely with some winners accepting their Grammy via remote.
Some of this year’s rock and metal Grammy nominees include Poppy, Body Count, In This Moment, Power Trip, Code Orange, The Strokes and Ozzy Osbourne producer Andrew Watt.
Los Angeles is currently one of the hardest hit cities in the U.S. for Covid cases. Just yesterday (Jan. 4) a new single-day record was set with 74,000 new cases. A report surfaced Tuesday (Jan. 5) via CNN that the hospital system has been stretched so thin than ambulance crews have been advised to ration the oxygen supply and not transfer patients who have virtually no chance of surviving.
More than 7,600 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 in Los Angeles County with 21 percent of those currently in Intensive Care Units according to a report issued Monday.
UPDATE: A statement has now been made concerning the 2021 Grammys with the ceremony moving to Sunday, March 14. The statement reads as follows:
The following is a joint statement from HARVEY MASON JR., Chair & Interim President/CEO of the Recording Academy; JACK SUSSMAN, Executive Vice President, Specials, Music, Live Events and Alternative Programming, CBS; and BEN WINSTON, GRAMMY Awards Executive Producer, Fulwell 73 Productions.
“After thoughtful conversations with health experts, our host and artists scheduled to appear, we are rescheduling the 63rd Annual GRAMMY Awards® to be broadcast Sunday, March 14, 2021. The deteriorating COVID situation in Los Angeles, with hospital services being overwhelmed, ICUs having reached capacity, and new guidance from state and local governments have all led us to conclude that postponing our show was the right thing to do. Nothing is more important than the health and safety of those in our music community and the hundreds of people who work tirelessly on producing the show.
We want to thank all of the talented artists, the staff, our vendors and especially this year’s nominees for their understanding, patience and willingness to work with us as we navigate these unprecedented times.”