The Grammys will look slightly different this year following fires that devastated LA this January. The awards show, which will take place on Feb. 2, will still take place despite some calls to cancel or postpone. Here’s what the show will do to address the fires.

The Grammys will still occur following the LA fires

With the Grammys scheduled to take place less than a month after the outbreak of fires in Los Angeles, many wondered if the show would still take place.

“On the one hand, there’s the good we can do with our platform,” Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. told Variety. “But if we were to cancel or postpone the show, how would that affect the thousands of people who work on it or around it?”

The showrunners felt it was important to move forward with the show after multiple unprecedented years. 

“After COVID, post-COVID, two [Hollywood industry] strikes and everything else, try to tell those stagehands, costumers, makeup artists, drivers, caterers, PAs, and all those working people who make a living from the Grammys that we’re not doing the show,” executive producer Ben Winston said.

Mason said cancellation and postponement wasn’t something they ever wanted to consider.

“The only reason we would have canceled or postponed is if it was physically and logistically impossible to hold the show — if the fire department said it’s not safe, or the police department said we would be overtaxing their infrastructure, or the local government said not to.”

The Grammys will raise money for those impacted by the LA fires

By Jan. 27, MusiCares had already raised nearly $4 million and distributed $2.2 million. They hope to continue these efforts while still putting on an awards ceremony to honor achievements in music.

“It will still be the Grammy Awards,” Winston said, per The New York Times. “We are still looking back at an incredible year of music. We are still having performances that we would have had when we were planning the show on Jan. 1. But of course we’re reflecting now on what’s going on in Los Angeles.”

While they hope to raise money, the show will not function as a traditional fundraiser. 

“It will not be a telethon, and you’re not going to see a [chyron with a] running total across the bottom of the screen; it’s not that type of an event,” Mason said. “It’s a chance for us to use our platform — and, thankfully, our partners at CBS are helpful with this — to raise money and awareness, but it will still have performance and awards.”

Viewers can still expect to see artists perform and win awards at the ceremony.

“It’s going to be different, but I wouldn’t say dramatically different,” Mason said. “We’ll have a different tone. There’ll be discussion and segments around the fire and fundraising components. We’ll still have performances, we’ll still have awards and honor music. But you’ll know that something’s happened, and you’ll know that we’re using music to do good.”

They have condensed the Grammy week events and introduced a focus on fire relief rather than striking a celebratory tone. They hope this will raise money and awareness for those impacted by the fires.

“When I see people and friends who have lost their studio, lost their house, lost their instruments, lost their ability to make a living, after all the strife and struggle that has happened to people in this community over the last five years, I say we have to do everything we can to be helpful,” Mason said. “That involves raising money, raising awareness and hopefully allowing MusiCares to have the financial resources that it’s going to take to support the thousands and thousands of people that are going to need help — not just this week or next week, but for the next few years.”

How can you watch The Grammys?

The Grammys will air on Sunday, Feb. 2 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. The show will also be streaming on Paramount+.