Citing the ongoing surge in Covid cases due to the Omicron variant, the Recording Academy announced that the 2022 Grammys will be postponed. A new date for the show was not announced.
In a statement, the Recording Academy and CBS, which airs the Grammys, said, “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 31st simply contains too many risks. We look forward to celebrating Music’s Biggest Night on a future date, which will be announced soon.”
Like other live entertainment organizers, the Recording Academy had been confident in a full-scale Grammys showcase for 2022 before the new year. But as the Omicron variant has spiked confirmed cases to numbers not seen since before the availability of vaccines, the optics of a full-scale show — particularly where attendees would be coming from around the world — have changed.
This marks the second year in a row that the pandemic has forced the Grammys to postpone. Last year, the Academy moved the show from late Jan. to Mar. 14, and the show went with a mixture of live and pre-recorded performances along with a limited crowd of Grammy nominees. It isn’t immediately clear what the plan will be for the Grammys’ new date.
L.A. County, where the Grammys would take place, averaged nearly 12,000 new confirmed Covid cases a day recently, the highest tally the county has seen since a surge after the holiday season last year. While hospitals across California were overwhelmed with hospitalizations this time last year when the Grammys pushed the show back, hospitals currently have more manageable numbers and availability to treat patients thanks to the wide availability of vaccines. Health experts, however, still worry about high hospitalizations given how transmissible Omicron is and how many people across the country still haven’t gotten the vaccine.
Jon Batiste leads the Grammy nominations this year with 11, while Justin Bieber, Doja Cat, and H.E.R. tied for second with eight nominations. Trevor Noah was set to repeat as host after also MCing the Grammys last year.
NEWS
Live from London, it is Saturday Night Live.
The legendary sketch comedy institution officially launched its UK edition on March 21 with Saturday Night Live UK, featuring former SNL cast member Tina Fey as host and British indie rock group Wet Leg as the episode’s musical guest.
This global expansion of Lorne Michaels’ famous NBC program began with Fey’s opening monologue, which included unexpected cameos from Michael Cera and UK television personality Graham Norton.
“It’s an absolute honour and kind of historic,” Fey told the crowd. “Guys, I am the youngest person to ever host SNL UK!”
During the broadcast, Wet Leg delivered performances of two songs taken from their second album Moisturizer, which opened at Number 6 on Billboard’s Top Rock and Alternative Albums chart and also climbed to Number 1 on the Official Albums Chart in the United Kingdom.
The band first appeared performing the record’s fourth single “Mangetout,” a Grammy nominated song that also earned a place on Billboard’s list of the 20 best UK and Ireland songs of 2025. Later in the show they returned to play the album’s lead single “Catch These Fists.”
After their appearance on SNL UK, Wet Leg will travel back to the United States for a series of major festival dates including Coachella, Governors Ball, Bonnaroo and Outside Lands. Their US tour is scheduled to begin April 15 at the Fox Theater in Pomona, California.
Upcoming episodes of SNL UK have also been confirmed. Wolf Alice will serve as musical guest on the March 28 episode hosted by Jamie Dornan, while Kasabian will perform on the April 2 show with Riz Ahmed as host.
The show is broadcast on Sky in the United Kingdom and is available to stream on Peacock in the United States. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the first episode attracted more than 220,000 viewers on Sky. It was released in the US on March 22 via Peacock.
You can watch Wet Leg’s SNL UK performances below.
