The music ceremony will be televised on March 14.
Nothing is safe from the coronavirus, and "music's biggest night" is no exception: The Grammy Awards have been delayed, following the escalating COVID-19 crisis occurring nationwide.
The Recording Academy announced their decision on Tuesday to push back the televised ceremony to Sunday, March 14. It was previously scheduled for Sunday, January 31.
"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 academy said in a statement.
The statement was signed jointly by executives from the academy and CBS, who expressed concerns towards the spiking cases in Los Angeles, where the award show has been consistently hosted since 1959. They cited factors such as overworked hospitals and strained ICUs in delaying the initial broadcast, along with the changes in public safety guidelines implemented throughout the state.
The 63rd #GRAMMYs have been postponed to Sunday, March 14, 2021.
— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) January 6, 2021
Read our full statement.
The pandemic may have reared its head in 2020, but entering the new year hasn't stopped the virus' spread from ravaging the country, particularly in Los Angeles. Recently the Los Angeles Times revealed a staggering 74,000 cases in a single day, which translates to 184 deaths daily. The national death toll has reached 357,000 people, which health officials worry will rise, even with the recent rollout of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines.
"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," they added.
Nominees featured this year are Beyonce, Billie Eilish, and Taylor Swift, whose smash album Folklore is up for 6 awards, including Album of the Year. Trevor Noah will be the host. Read the full statement.
What do you think of the Recording Academy's decision? Will you be tuning in on the new date? Let us know in the comments!