The Grammy Awards have set their return to an indoor setting in January for next year.
The 64th annual incarnation of the award show will take place Jan. 31 at its usual home at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and air live on CBS.
For the first time since 2016, the Grammys will take place on a Monday, rather than the traditional Sunday night airing.
While this year’s celebration of musical accomplishments – postponed from January until March 14 due to COVID-19 concerns – received widespread praise for its innovative staging outside near the Staples Center and inside the neighboring Los Angeles Convention Center, the show still experienced pandemic-era viewer fatigue.
The 2021 Grammy Awards dropped to an all-time low in ratings, with 9.23 million viewers, down 51 percent from the 18.69 million in 2020.
But producers also point to massive online numbers as an indicator of changing viewing habits: 28 million views for Dua Lipa’s performance with DaBaby; more than 13 million for Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B’s racy display during “WAP” – goosed by additional publicity from complaint stories on cable news; 12 million for Billie Eilish’s “Everything I Wanted”; 7.2 million for Taylor Swift’s medley of “Cardigan,” “August” and “Willow”: 2.9 million for Harry Styles’ opening performance of “Watermelon Sugar”; and 1.6 million for BTS’ “Dynamite” showing.
