The 2022 Grammy Awards have been postponed after COVID-19 surge
Organisers of the Grammy Awards, scheduled for later this month, have postponed the event for a second year in a row, citing the current COVID-19 surge.
"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," CBS and the Recording Academy announced in a joint statement.
"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."
The Grammys have been postponed amid coronavirus concerns. Corbis via Getty Images
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The statement went on to say, "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."
No new date has been confirmed for the music awards night as of yet.
Grammy Week events, such as the MusiCares Person of the Year concert, honouring Joni Mitchell, are also likely to move to the week before the new date as well, along with other events surrounding the show.
Singer Billie Eilish at the 2021 Grammy Awards. FilmMagic
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The Daily Show's Trevor Noah is still scheduled to return as Grammy host this year for the newly scheduled date.
Last year's Grammys were moved up six weeks to March 14, 2021, after a COVID-19 spike in California.
The2021 Grammys was a low-key event in Los Angeles with small, rotating groups of nominees that changed every 45 minutes.
Trevor Noah will return to host the Grammys for its rescheduled ceremony. Getty
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According to Variety, the Academy and CBS are hoping for a full show with a live audience for the rescheduled date. The Grammys typically generate millions of dollars in revenue.
The 2022 Grammy nominee list is led by Jon Batiste with 11 nominations, followed by Justin Bieber, rapper Doja Cat and H.E.R. with eight apiece.
Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo are close behind with seven nominations each.
