Grammy Awards Postponed Indefinitely Thanks To Omicron Concerns

“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 statement reads. “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 31 simply contains too many risks.  We look forward to celebrating Music’s Biggest Night on a future date, which will be announced soon.” 

The postponement doesn’t come as a complete surprise, despite the fact that Crypto.com Arena has a full schedule of sports and other events including home games for the NBA’s Lakers and Clippers, and the NHL’S Kings, as well as music events such as the three-day Bud Lite Music Fest with Halsey, Machine Gun Kelly, Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, Green Day and Miley Cyrus among the headliners Feb. 10-12.

The postponement marks the second year of COVID impacts on the Grammys. Last year, the ceremony was postponed from Jan. 31 to March 14 because of a holiday season surge in COVID cases in L.A. This time, it’s the Omicron variant and its heightened transmissibility that’s caused artists, their reps and Recording Academy officials to balk at a 20,000-capacity Crypto.com full house in late January. 

The Recording Academy did not announce alternate plans, but a full calendar at the AEG-owned Crypto.com Arena doesn’t offer lengthy openings for a rescheduling there until at least summer. That does not necessarily preclude the awards show from taking place earlier – last year, the Recording Academy moved the ceremony to the Los Angeles Convention Center before a reduced audience.

No word was shared, either, on the fate of Grammy Week events including the MusiCares Person of the Year event which is to honor Joni Mitchell, which presumably could move to a new date when that’s determined by the Recording Academy.