The Grammys 2021 have been postponed over coronavirus concerns

The Grammys 2021 have been postponed, weeks before the ceremony was due to take place.

  • Read more: Could pre-recorded ceremonies make awards shows predictable and sterile?

The awards show was scheduled to be held in a limited form on January 31 in Los Angeles. However, the continuing coronavirus pandemic has prompted organisers to move the ceremony to March 21.

If the Grammys had gone ahead this month, the ceremony would have had no audience in the room, with only presenters and performers allowed on site. Nominated artists would not have been present at the event, meaning awards would likely have been accepted virtually and through pre-recorded video speeches.

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While the Recording Academy had previously announced the Staples Center as the venue for the 2021 ceremony, interim boss Harvey Mason Jr. recently said it would instead be held “in and around Downtown Los Angeles”.

Recording Academy logo. CREDIT: Getty

Beyoncé has the most nominations for the Grammys 2021 with nine nods, while Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift and Roddy Ricch all have six apiece.

Currently, California is experiencing a huge surge in coronavirus cases, with hospitals in Los Angeles County so overpopulated that patients with the virus are being forced to wait in ambulances until beds free up. Yesterday (January 4), a new single-day record of 74,000 new cases was recorded in the whole state.







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The nominations for the Grammys 2021 saw some major artists snubbed. The Killers failed to secure a single nod in the list and mocked Trump as they responded to the news.

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The Weeknd, meanwhile, also wasn’t named in the list despite dominating major music ceremonies in 2020. He later said the Grammys “remain corrupt” and said the organisation owed him, his fans and the industry “transparency”.

On January 5, NME reported that three of the five Grammy nominees in the Best Children’s Album category had declined their nominations. The nominees cited the category’s lack of racial diversity as their reason for rejecting their Grammy nods.