The 2022 Grammy Awards, originally set for 31 January, have been postponed indefinitely due to Covid-19.
In a statement sent to HuffPost, the Recording Academy and its television partner, CBS, cited the rapidly spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus as the reason for the delay.
“After careful consideration and analysis with city and state officials, health and safety experts, the artist community and our many partners, the Recording Academy and CBS have postponed the 64th annual Grammy Awards show,” read the statement, which was also cited by Variety and Rolling Stone, among other outlets. “The health and safety of those in our music community, the live audience and the hundreds of people who work tirelessly to produce our show remains our top priority.
“Given the uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant, holding the show on Jan. 31 simply contains too many risks,” the statement continued.
Trevor Noah of The Daily Show is still slated to host the rescheduled event, though a new date was not announced.
This is the second time that the Grammys have been delayed due to Covid. The 2021 ceremony, originally scheduled for 31 January of last year, ultimately took place March 14 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The scaled-down event was held mostly outdoors and without a live audience, although nominees, presenters and a small number of media were in attendance. Viewership of the ceremony, however, reportedly dropped 53% from the previous year, while considerable ticket revenue was also lost.
Prior to Wednesday’s announcement, the Recording Academy was said to be planning a full-scale show at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena before a live audience. By Monday, however, Billboard reported that producers were having second thoughts.
Nominees for the 2022 Grammy Awards were announced 23 November. The list was led by Jon Batiste with 11 nominations, followed by Justin Bieber and Doja Cat with eight nods apiece.
