The 63rd annual Grammy Awards, originally scheduled for January 31, have been postponed due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19. A new date for the ceremony has not been confirmed, but sources tell Variety the event may be moved to sometime in March.
A combination of health and travel concerns is what ultimately led to the decision to postpone this year's Grammys, with the show's planned location of Los Angeles on the verge of becoming the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. More than 7,600 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 in just Los Angeles County.
IN THIS MOMENT, BODY COUNT, CODE ORANGE and POWER TRIP are among the "Best Metal Performance" nominees at the 2021 Grammy Awards, which are due to be hosted by "The Daily Show"'s Trevor Noah. It will mark his first time hosting the awards show.
Last year, it was announced that the 63rd annual Grammys would not be delayed despite the pandemic which is sweeping the globe.
"The amount of music released has actually increased during the pandemic, so we would not want to delay our date with so much great music coming out," the Recording Academy's interim president and CEO Harvey Mason Jr. told Variety in June. "I also think it's important and helpful to have shows like this, when there's been so much uncertainty and unrest — to have something you know is coming around every year and to know there's a time when we all sit down together and watch great entertainment and art."
In September, Mason teased to Variety, that the upcoming ceremony is "going to be a spectacular show." "Obviously, this is a very unique year. We've been looking at all of the shows really closely and I've been talking with some of the people who put them together — the creative and also the business side," he said. "I think there have been some great examples of how to present music and awards at these shows, and I think there's some other things that we're gonna do pretty differently."
Last year, TOOL was honored with a Grammy in the "Best Metal Performance" category in the pre-telecast ceremony at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards, which was held on January 26, 2020 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. TOOL was nominated for "7empest", a track from its 2019 album "Fear Inoculum".
