Dear Gossips,

Sometimes history really does repeat itself. A year ago, in this space, I posted about the Grammys being postponed. It’s now 2022 and today’s intro is about the Grammys being postponed, indefinitely. Which is the difference from 2021 because last year when the Recording Academy confirmed that they would be delaying the Grammys, an alternate date was immediately announced – March 14. Right now they still don’t have one, although they’ve said that they’d be sharing that information soon. 

 

One of the holdups might be the venue. The Grammys were supposed to happen at Crypto.com Arena (formerly Staples Centre) which is actually still hosting sporting events but according to Variety, “enough artists and executives voiced reluctance about appearing to convince the Academy to postpone the show”. In order to accommodate sets and rehearsal, the Grammys need to secure venues up to ten days in advance, so rescheduling the show right now has to do with picking a place on a Sunday some time in April or May that can also accommodate the Recording Academy taking over for over a week before. 

Award shows were already seeing a decline in ratings, even before COVID. The Grammys, in particular, have been taking heat as some of the most popular artists have openly criticised their process and are choosing not to participate. One of the advantages, traditionally, of holding an award show during the North American winter is that, well, people are more likely to be at home on a Sunday night to watch between January and March. Once the weather improves though, well, it’s harder to convince people to spend three-plus hours on the weekend staring at their television… especially now, when people have been craving having plans. Any plans!

 

I remember back in the summer, after I got my second shot, and how thrilling it was to, like, text people and be like… so… want to do something? Never thought I’d be so excited to make a reservation for dinner on a patio – because I HATE eating outside. But this is how the last two years have changed some of us. The thought of sitting two feet from a curb while cars sprayed their fumes all over my pasta was now a delight. Being able to ask someone if they wanted to sit two feet from the curb and get exhaust all over your food was a delight. 

So by April and May, when the weather improves, when the COVID situation has hopefully f-cking improved with more people getting vaccinated and boosted and Omicron under control, I imagine that feeling will return – the “planning” feeling, the excitement over plans. What are the Grammys ratings going to look like by then? 

Yours in gossip,

Lainey