The 2022 Grammys are officially on hold.
The Recording Academy and CBS have announced that the music award show will be postponed from its originally scheduled airdate on Jan. 31, 2022.
A new date for the event “will be announced soon,” officials said in a statement on Wednesday.
The news comes as the the global outbreak of the COVID-19 omicron variant continues. The US recorded more than 1 million COVID-19 new cases Monday — a daily record for any country since the pandemic began.
This is the second year in a row the award show has been put off. Last year’s event was also impacted by the COVID 19 pandemic, but its rescheduled date was among the earliest returns to an in-person format.
The academy’s statement read: “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 31 simply contains too many risks. We look forward to celebrating Music’s Biggest Night on a future date, which will be announced soon.”
Earlier this week, sources told Page Six that the Recording Academy was seeking a new venue to host the telecast amid a report that it would likely be postponed.
“They’re having trouble finding a venue and they’re looking at the Hollywood Bowl because it’s outside,” one source said.
The show was originally set to broadcast live from the Crypto.com Arena (formerly Staples Center) in Los Angeles on Jan. 31, but on Monday Billboard magazine reported that the show will likely be postponed due to COVID 19.
The award show also made a surprise last-minute rule change — not announced until moments before the contenders were revealed — expanding the number of nominees in the Big 4 categories (Album, Record and Song of the Year, plus Best New Artist) from eight to 10.
The variant has thrown off many of this year’s awards shows. On Tuesday, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced that the 2022 Golden Globes — set to happen Sunday, January 9, will be happening — just without a red carpet, audience, celebrities or press.
And just as news broke about the Grammy’s rescheduling, Sundance Film Festival also announced a change in plans due to the Omicron surge.
The in-person Park City, UT event will go virtual for the second year-in-a-row. The festival will remain online for its Jan. 20 to 30 duration.