UPDATE: The show will go on for the 2022 Grammy Awards, which was officially rescheduled on Jan. 18.
The Recording Academy announced that the event will move to Las Vegas and take place on April 3 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Comedian Trevor Noah is returning as the master of ceremonies. It was previously scheduled for Jan. 31, but postponed earlier this month amid the latest coronavirus surge.
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It's a no-go for the 2022 Grammys, for now.
The annual ceremony, honoring the best in music, will not take place on its previously scheduled date on Jan. 31 and has been postponed indefinitely due to COVID-19 concerns, the Recording Academy announced in a press release on Wednesday, Jan. 5. The move comes amid a global surge fueled by the emergence of the more infectious Omicron variant of the virus.
This marks the second year in a row that the date for the Grammys, typically held in January or February, has been pushed back due to a coronavirus spike since the pandemic started in March 2020.
"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," organizers said in a statement to E! News. "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."
The statement continued, "Given the uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant, holding the show on January 31 simply contains too many risks. We look forward to celebrating Music's Biggest Night on a future date, which will be announced soon."
The Grammy Awards were previously set to air live in front of an audience at its usual venue, the Crypto.com Arena, formerly known as the Staples Center, in Los Angeles. Sources told Variety that even though the stadium has a basketball or hockey game or a concert booked nearly every night until mid-April, enough artists and executives voiced reluctance about appearing at the Grammys.
Last year, the 2021 Grammys were postponed from January to March amid a COVID-19 surge that began the previous fall. The Daily Show's Trevor Noah hosted the ceremony and was supposed to reprise his role this year.
The 2022 Grammy nominees were announced in November and include artists such as Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo and Lil Nas X. Drake was nominated for two awards but later withdrew his nominations.
This article was originally published on Jan. 5, 2022, at 1:54 p.m. and updated on Jan. 18 after the event was rescheduled for April.