The Grammy Awards have changed at the last minute from January 31st to March 14th. The reason is the pandemic. But a confusing day of announcements. And this was after — as I reported a couple of weeks ago– that executive producer Ben Winston had lined up Adele, Beyonce, Taylor Swift, and Harry Styles for the January 31st date. Six weeks? Won’t make a difference since none of them are booked for anything anyway.
MusiCares will move to March 12th, then, supposedly, five days after the Critics Choice Awards. Will there be red carpets, audiences? Who knows? Los Angeles is under siege from COVID.
Here’s the Recording Academy statement:
“After thoughtful conversations with health experts, our network partner, CBS, our host, and artists scheduled to appear, we have made the decision to postpone the 63rd GRAMMY Awards to March 14, 2021. The deteriorating COVID situation in Los Angeles, where hospital services have been overwhelmed and ICUs have reached capacity, and new guidance from state and local governments have led us to conclude that postponing our show was the right thing to do. 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.
“We want to thank all of the talented artists, the staff, our vendors, and especially this year’s nominees for their understanding, patience, and willingness to work with us as we navigate these unprecedented times. The show will go on and we will unite and heal through music by celebrating excellence and saluting this year’s outstanding nominees.”
