The pandemic has been a pain in the butt for award shows over the last two years, and this year’s Grammy Awards are no different. They were originally supposed to be held in early February in Los Angeles, but the Omicron variant of COVID-19 thwarted those plans. So, the new date, April 3, in Las Vegas didn’t work out for every celebrity who was nominated.
Some stars are too busy right now to take time out of their schedule to fly to the West Coast, like Miranda Lambert. And, others were happy to be nominated and were looking forward performing at the ceremony, but their personal life got a bit too messy for the producers to take the risk (yep, Kanye West). So, there will be plenty of musicians who will be watching from the comfort of their couch instead of on the Las Vegas Strip this year.
Most of the names on this list are nominees, so they will miss out on their big moment to give a heartfelt acceptance speech, but again, this isn’t a normal year. Hopefully, next year’s Grammys will bring out all of the celebs and COVID-19 will be nothing but a distant memory. Find out why some of your favorite artists are staying far away from the Grammys this year.
Ariana Grande
Even though she’s up for three awards at the Grammys, Ariana Grande shared with her fans that she was not in Las Vegas just hours before the show began. She wished her fellow nominees well and reflected on making her album, Positions, with some behind-the-scenes footage.
“some positions memories to celebrate grammy day,” she wrote on Instagram. “reflecting on an incredible process with so many creatives that i love and respect so deeply. i love this album so. it’s an honor to be recognized today alongside so many brilliant musicians and human beings that i love. to have each other, to have the gifts that we have, to share and feel heard.. is not something to take for granted, we’ve already won. 🙂 have a beautiful time, i am celebrating all of you there today!”
Kanye West
Even though Kanye West is up for five awards at the Grammys, he is not performing at the show. He was reportedly removed from the line-up due to his “concerning online behavior,” his rep told Variety. He had very public squabbles with ex-wife Kim Kardashian, her boyfriend Pete Davidson and Grammys host Trevor Noah that led to that decision.
Miranda Lambert
Miranda Lambert is up for two Grammys on Sunday, but she’s skipping the ceremony because she’s “slammed” with work. The country star is prepping her next album, Palimino, and getting ready for her upcoming tour with Little Big Town. “I’m not getting to go again,” she told ABC Audio. “So, I’m slammed this month, with the record coming out and everything.”
Jason Aldean
Jason Aldean is nominated with Carrie Underwood for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for their hit song, “If I Didn’t Love You,” but he’s staying home this year because the show is too darn long.
“I’m not going just simply for the fact that there are so many categories on that show that a lot of them aren’t even aired on TV,” Aldean told Music Mayhem magazine. “They’ll kind of read them out before the show or whatever. And I could be wrong, but I don’t think they’re going to air that on TV, so I’m not going to go, but it was cool [to be nominated].”
Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus was never scheduled to be in Las Vegas, but she was supposed to perform at Steven Tyler’s Grammy watch party in Los Angeles. Those plans were scratched after she came down with COVID-19.
She tweeted the disappointing news on Friday. “Traveling around the world, playin for a 100,000 people a night & meeting hundreds of fans a day the chances of getting Covid are pretty high. I have Covid now but it was definitely worth it,” she wrote and added in a second tweet. “I am feeling fine so don’t worry about me! Sorry Steven! We’ll have to ‘Walk This Way’ another time!”
Selena Gomez
Despite being nominated, Selena Gomez is opting out of this year’s Grammy Awards — and no, it has nothing to do with Justin Bieber attending, according to Instagram gossip site, DeuxMoi, via Cosmopolitan. It’s likely because she is in the middle of filming the second season of Only Murders in the Building in New York City, so let’s put those Bieber rumors to rest for good.
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