2021 Grammy Awards postponed due to Covid surge

Gulf Today Report

Covid’s latest victim is the 2021 Grammy Awards, which have reportedly been postponed.

The awards ceremony due to take place on Jan.31 has been rescheduled to March 14 because of the coronavirus surge in Los Angeles, organisers said on Tuesday.

The new date, announced by the Recording Academy and broadcaster CBS in a joint statement, clashes with the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards ceremony for film and television.

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The organisers said music’s most illustrious award ceremony had been delayed after talks with health experts and musicians.

A Covid-safe 2021 Grammy ceremony devoid of an audience was slated to be held on Jan.31 in Los Angeles, possibly at the show’s long-time Staples Center home.

Nominated artists would not have been allowed on-site, leading many to believe that the 2021 Grammys would run similarly to last fall's mostly remote Emmy Awards, which was also held at the Staples Center.

This year's Grammy nominations were led by Beyoncé, who earned nine nods, as well as Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift, and Roddy Ricch, who each earned six nominations.

Covid-19 has been on the rise in Los Angeles ever since Thanksgiving, with a new single-day record of 74,000 new cases on Jan.4, according to The Los Angeles Times. 

Speaking to Variety last summer, interim Recording Academy president and CEO Harvey Mason Jr said that the initial plan around this year's Grammy ceremony would be to hold the show at the 18,000-seat Staples Center with either a limited or no audience.

More recently, he said that the show would be held "in and around Downtown Los Angeles."

In an interview with Billboard last month, executive producer Ben Winston said that he was "looking to do something quite exciting with independent venues" for 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."