Grammys get postponed – again: When will they finally cancel them?
Just because 2020 is (finally) over, doesn’t mean events aren’t still getting postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic – much to our collective frustration. The most recent postponement is the 2021 Grammy Awards, which were originally slated to be held on January 31st. The ceremony, however, has been suspended for a couple months, and fans are wondering if organizers will finally just cancel it.
When will the ceremony take place?
Rolling Stone magazine recently reported that the Grammys will now be held in March, but a specific new date hasn’t been confirmed yet. Regardless of when it takes place, though, the show will likely be a “remote” event, like many live celebrations this year. Celebrities will likely appear from their living rooms to perform & accept awards.
Who will take home the big awards?
One thing that 2020 did not lack was a ton of new good music. As of now, it’s looking like Beyoncé is leading the nominees. Other big contenders are Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift, and Roddy Ricch.
A corrupt ceremony
Despite bubbling excitement over the pending event, however, there’s still some tension in the air over nomination scandals. The Weeknd claimed that he was snubbed by not having been nominated in any category this year. “The Grammys remain corrupt,” he tweeted. “You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency . . .”
The Recording Academy’s interim chief, Harvey Mason Jr., directly addressed The Weeknd’s claims of corruption. “Y’know,” he told Variety, “it really just comes down to the voting body that decides. We have eight nomination slots to fill in, five in others, and the voters vote for their favorites. It’s really interesting, though.”
He continued: “We look at it every year and make tweaks and revisions to the process; we did it this year, last year, we’ll do it next year. And I don’t think this calls it into question, honestly. The process is there so we can continue to monitor excellence.”
He also stated that there were “23,000 entries – that’s the most entries we’ve ever had,” while patting himself on the back for “diversity and all the different genres, especially in the big four categories”.
COVID heating up in the Grammys backyard
Though the postponement of the Grammys might be frustrating, it is really the only safe way forward. Following Thanksgiving, California has seen a giant COVID case surge. According to the Los Angeles Times, the state reported a single-day record of 74,000 new cases on January 4th.
In addition, the hospital system has been under such a heavy burden that critical COVID patients have had to wait in ambulances for hours while waiting for beds to open up. “Hospitals are declaring internal disasters and having to open church gyms to serve as hospital units,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis. “Our health care workers are physically and mentally exhausted and sick.”
Dr. Jeffrey Smith, chief operating officer of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, added to Solis’s statement, explaining that COVID patients with low survival rates aren’t given beds due to high demand. “This order that was issued by the county emergency medical services really is very specific to patients who suffered from a cardiac arrest and are unable to be revived in the field.”
He continued: “Those patients have a very low rate of survival each if they are transported to the hospital. So at this time, it is deemed to likely be futile.”
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With COVID case numbers climbing in California, it is difficult to determine whether this will be the last time the Grammys are postponed. But, while we might have to wait for the ceremony for a couple more months, if we do indeed get to watch Beyoncé take home those awards, it’ll be totally worth it.
