For the second year in a row, the Grammy Awards have been postponed from their scheduled date of Jan. 31 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A new date has not yet been announced.

UPDATE: The Grammys have been rescheduled for April 3. The awards ceremony will take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

"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," both organizations said 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. Given the uncertainty surrounding the omicron variant, holding the show on Jan. 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, Billboard, citing an unnamed source “with direct knowledge” of the situation, claimed it was “looking likely” that the annual event would be pushed back as the omicron variant of the virus continues spreading across America at an alarming rate.

The postponement marks the second year in a row that the award show has been altered as a result of the pandemic. Last year’s edition was originally scheduled for Jan. 31 but was pushed back to March 14. The event was also a much more stripped-back affair than previous Grammys, moved from Staples Center (now called Crypto.com Arena) to the nearby Los Angeles Convention Center, and held without the customary crowd of thousands.

Like this time last year, Los Angeles finds itself in the midst of a significant spike in COVID cases. The area is averaging more than 20,000 positive tests a day since Christmas.

The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah is set to host the 2022 Grammys, reprising his role from last year. Paul McCartney, AC/DC, Foo Fighters, Wolfgang Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, George Harrison and Chris Cornell are among the nominated rockers.

Top 40 Rock Albums of 2021

In spite of the ongoing pandemic, music soldiered on.

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