The 2022 Grammys are postponed
The ceremony was initially set to be held on January 31
The 2022 Grammys were supposed to be held on January 31, but due to the Omicron variant surge, the ceremony will now be rescheduled. A Recording Academy spokesperson confirmed the news to Variety, and noted that a new date hasn’t been selected yet.
This year’s ceremony was supposed to be held at Crypto.com Arena (the poorly named venue that used to be the Staples Center) in Los Angeles. But as COVID cases rapidly spread across the globe—even among those who have received vaccine boosters—it would’ve been a big health hazard to host an event that required so many people in attendance.
According to Variety, sources told the publication that “even though the Crypto.com Arena has a basketball or hockey game or a concert booked nearly every night until mid-April, enough artists and executives voiced reluctance about appearing to convince the Academy to postpone the show.”
The Recording Academy also issued a joint statement with CBS, confirming the news:
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. 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 January 31st simply contains too many risks. We look forward to celebrating Music’s Biggest Night on a future date, which will be announced soon.
This isn’t the first time the Grammys have been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 Grammys were supposed to be held on January 31 of that year, but were rescheduled for March 14.
Nominees for the now-postponed ceremony were announced on November 23, 2021, and included Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Doja Cat, Justin Bieber, Lil Nas X, and Jon Baptiste—the last of whom was nominated for 11 awards, the most of any artist this year.