The 64th Annual Grammy Awards show will be postponed after the recording academy expressed concerns over the spread of COVID-19.

The Grammy award show was scheduled for January 31 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and while a new date has not been announced, the academy said it would soon release its plans.

“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,” the Recording Academy and CBS 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 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.”

Omicron has become the dominant variant in the U.S., leading to an increase of COVID-19 positive cases and hospitalizations. On Tuesday, L.A. County recorded 21,790 new single-day positive cases of COVID-19, with 1,994 people currently hospitalized with the disease.

This would be the first time the Grammy Awards schedule would be affected by the pandemic, as the 2020 awards took place before the U.S. placed COVID-19 restrictions on events. In 2021, the awards show continued with a live audience and its own COVID-19 protocols in place.

Comedian Trevor Noah was expected to reprise his role as host, as he did in 2021, with the show being aired on CBS and streamed on the Paramount+ streaming service.

Leading the way in nominations was singer and composer Jon Batiste, grabbing 11 nods, followed by Justin Bieber, Doja Cat and H.E.R. with eight each.

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