Entertainment Awards Shows and Events Grammys 2022 Grammy Awards Postponed Due to 'Uncertainty' Surrounding the COVID-19 Omicron Variant A new date for the awards show, originally set to take place on Jan. 31, is yet to be announced By Daniela Avila Daniela Avila Daniela Avila is an editorial assistant at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2021. Her work previously appeared on The Poly Post. People Editorial Guidelines Published on January 5, 2022 04:00PM EST The Grammys. Photo: Michael Kovac/Getty Images The 2022 Grammy Awards have been postponed until further notice. The Recording Academy and CBS announced in a joint statement on Wednesday that the 64th annual Grammy Awards would be postponed amid the ongoing COVID-19 surge. "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 read. Grammys 2022 Nominations: Jon Batiste Earns 11 Nods as Justin Bieber, Doja Cat & H.E.R. Score Big "Given the uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant, holding the show on Jan. 31 simply contains too many risks. We look forward to celebrating music's biggest night on a future date, which will be announced soon." For more on the 2022 Grammy Awards being postponed, listen below to our daily podcast on PEOPLE Every Day. This is the second year in a row that the awards show is postponed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, the show was postponed until March, and shortly after the announcement, Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy told Entertainment Tonight that the decision was made "based on the decline of the health circumstances around Los Angeles and the country" amid the ongoing pandemic. "It didn't feel like the right time to be having the show on Jan. 31," he previously said. "COVID-19 has had a big impact on our planning process and how we're putting the show together. As we move to our March 14 date, it'll give us a little more flexibility to watch what happens and to have more conversations with health officials and continue to evolve the show." The award show did indeed take place in March, outside with precautions in place to be quarantine-friendly and partly virtual. RELATED VIDEO: Grammys Postpone 2021 Awards Show Due to COVID Concerns This year's award show, hosted by Trevor Noah for his second consecutive year was set to take place at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. John Batiste is leading this year's nominations with a whopping 11 nods — including album of the year, record of the year and best R&B album. Justin Bieber, Doja Cat and H.E.R. each notched eight nominations, while Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo will head into Grammys night with seven apiece. "This is an exciting day for music," Mason Jr., 53, said in a statement upon the announcement. "These nominations beautifully reflect today's broad and diverse musical landscape. I congratulate all of the nominees and everyone who submitted work. I'm also so proud of our voters. They voted in record numbers and brought their very best to evaluating the work of their peers, and I thank them on behalf of the entire music community." The news of the postponement comes as over 21,000 new cases of COVID-19 were reported on Jan. 4 in L.A. County, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from the CDC, WHO and local public health departments. PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMe to raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, click here.