Los Angeles, Jan 6 (IANS): The 2021 Grammy Awards ceremony, originally scheduled for January 31, has been postponed due to Covid concerns. The ceremony is now scheduled to be held on March 14.

"After thoughtful conversations with health experts, our host and artists scheduled to appear, we are rescheduling the 63rd #GRAMMYs to be broadcast Sunday, March 14, 2021," read a tweet on the official Twitter handle of Recording Academy on Wednesday.

"The deteriorating COVID situation in Los Angeles, with hospital services being overwhelmed, ICUs having reached capacity, and new guidance from state and local governments have all led us to conclude that postponing our show was the right thing to do. Nothing is more important than the health and safety of those in our music community and the hundreds of people who work tirelessly on producing the show," the Recording Academy and CBS, the network broadcasting the show, said in a statement.

"We want to thank all of the talented artists, the staff, our vendors and especially this year's nominees for their understanding, patience and willingness to work with us as we navigate these unprecedented times," the statement further read.

The statement is signed by Harvey Mason JR., Chair & Interim President/CEO of the Recording Academy; Jack Sussman, Executive Vice President, Specials, Music, Live Events and Alternative Programming, CBS; and Ben Winston, Grammy Awards Executive Producer, Fulwell 73 Productions.

Meanwhile, the 2021 Grammy Awards nominations are all about women power with Beyonce, Taylor Swift and Dua Lipa leading the way. Beyonce is leading the contender at the 2021 Grammy Awards with nine nods. She is followed by Taylor Swift, Roddy Ricch and Dua Lipa, who earned six nominations each.