The 2021 Grammys are reportedly postponed over COVID-19 concerns

The 2021 Grammy Awards were set to happen on Jan. 31. However, it looks like concerns over the coronavirus pandemic have put a halt to those plans.

The Recording Academy has reportedly decided to delay the awards ceremony to later this year.

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The Grammys had already planned to have a limited show due to the COVID-19 crisis. The awards ceremony had completely eliminated its audience and was only going to allow performers and presenters on-site during the show. As well, similar to the 2020 Emmys, nominees wouldn’t have been allowed on-site, causing them to accept awards remotely over video.

Although the Recording Academy has not released an official statement yet, Rolling Stone reports that multiple sources say the awards ceremony is being postponed. According to the report, the 2021 Grammys may be moved to sometime in March. However, no official date has been revealed.

Currently, the United States is seeing a surge in coronavirus cases. In particular, California, where the 2021 Grammys is set to happen, is one of the states seeing the largest uptick in COVID-19 cases. According to the Los Angeles Times, the state set a single-day record of 74,000 new cases on Jan. 4th. The latest surge is likely due to large gatherings and travel over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

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Although no presenters and performers have been announced yet, comedian Trevor Noah is set to host the 2021 Grammys. As well, back in November, the Recording Academy announced the official nominees for this year’s award show. Beyonce is the leader of the pack with a total of nine nominations. Meanwhile, Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift and Roddy Ricch trail behind with six nominations each.

The Grammys received some criticism after the nominations were announced. Halsey, the Weeknd and Nicki Minaj are a few of the artists to speak publicly about the corruption and industry bias that goes into the nomination selections.

Power Trip and Body Count are among the artists nominated in this year’s Best Metal Performance category. Ice-T recently revealed why he would still feel like he won if Power Trip took home the award over Body Count.

UPDATE: JAN. 5, 2021, 8:00 P.M. ET

Following reports from unnamed sources, the Recording Academy has released an official statement confirming the Grammy Awards will be postponed from its planned Jan 31 date. The show will now air on March 14.

The news comes in a joint statement from the Recording Academy’s Chair and Interim President/CEO Harvey Mason Jr.; CBS Executive Vice President Specials, Music, Live Events and Alternative Programming Jack Sussman and Grammy Awards Executive Producer Ben Winston.

In it, the group reveals they made the decision after consulting with health experts, host Trevor Noah and artists who would be appearing. You can read their statement in full below.

 

“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.”

What are your reactions to the 2021 Grammy Awards being postponed? Let us know in the comments below.