If you have “Jan. 31” marked on your calendar (as I do, since it’s like, my job), then scratch it off. A rep has confirmed to Variety that the 63rd Grammy Awards have been postponed to a later date. There’s not an updated date yet, but sources told Variety the ceremony may be moved to sometime in March.
Variety further reports:
While interim Grammy chief Harvey Mason, Jr. told Variety last summer that the initial general plan was to hold the event at its longtime home of the 18,000-capacity Staples Center in Los Angeles, with either a limited or no audience, in recent weeks he said the show would be held “in and around Downtown Los Angeles,” opening the possibility that performances could be staged from multiple venues in that area. In a brief interview with Billboard published last month, new Grammys executive producer Ben Winston said he was “looking to do something quite exciting with independent venues” either in or around the 2021 show.
“I’m so struck by the independent music venues around the world, and I’m aware of how hard hit that side of the industry has been. I’m looking to do something quite exciting with the independent venues — supporting them and putting a spotlight on them in what has been a really tough year for them.” The venues will receive aid as part of the Save Our Stages Act, which was passed into law along with the stimulus bill last month.
Naturally, this decision is related to the global pandemic, which recently had yet another effect on the Hollywood industry when it was announced that several studios halted production due to the recent and unprecedented surge in coronavirus infections and deaths in Los Angeles County. Though film and TV productions were exempt from the COVID-based restrictions under the county’s December stay-at-home order, the recent uptick in cases understandably caused significant concern. Netflix, CBS Studios, Warner Bros. TV, Universal TV, Sony Pictures TV, Lionsgate TV as well as Disney TV Studios’ ABC Signature and 20th Television are among the major studios who have delayed January production of their content.
As Los Angeles has been the place where the Grammys have most often been hosted, I’m assuming the industry-wide halt has a lot to do with this decision to postpone the ceremony. None of us truly know how awards season will go this year and it’s safe to say things could be moved around—so we should stay flexible.
Nominations for the 2021 Grammys were announced during Thanksgiving week, as well as the show’s host—Trevor Noah.
Once we know more on an exact ceremony date for the 2021 Grammys, we’ll be sure to update you.
Update: 1/6/2021, 8:21 a.m. ET: On Tuesday evening, The Recording Academy confirmed the updated scheduled ceremony date. The 63rd Grammys has been moved to March 14, per Deadline. If you ask me (they didn’t), I still think that is too soon and overly optimistic to have an in-person ceremony in any capacity given Los Angeles’ current status with the coronavirus cases and deaths, but what do I know.
“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,” The Academy issued in a joint statement with broadcast channel CBS. “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.”