Grammys Get 8.9 Million Viewers, Up Just 1 Percent from 2021’s All-Time Low
Sunday’s 64th Grammys, emceed again by “Daily Show” host Trevor Noah, drew 8.9 million total viewers across multiple platforms, up only 1 percent from last year’s Covid-impacted record low. CBS is estimating that tally will grow to 9.6 million when out-of-home viewing is counted in data projected to be made available on Tuesday.
The March 14, 2021 Grammy Awards settled for 8.8 million total viewers across multiple platforms and a 2.1 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic, according to Nielsen. Those all-time lows were down 53 percent and 61 percent, respectively, from the January 26, 2020 Grammys. In final Live + Same Day data, which includes out-of-home viewing, last year’s Grammys adjusted up to 9.4 million overall viewers and a 2.3 rating in the key demo. Should CBS’ estimate comes to fruition, Music’s Biggest Night 2022 would be up 2 percent overall from 2021. At the time of this publishing, we did not have the key-demo rating for this weekend’s special.
The 2020 Grammy Awards, which predated the domestic arrival of the global pandemic, drew 18.8 million total viewers and a 5.4 rating in the same demo. At the time that demo rating was an all-time low, but the 16.9 million total TV viewers the show received back in 2006 was worse.
Sunday’s Grammys took place one week after the 94th Academy Awards experienced a ratings rebound of their own. The 2022 Oscars on ABC drew 16.6 million total viewers (in Nielsen’s Live + Same Day final figures, which count out-of-home viewing) and a 3.8 rating among adults 18-49.
Last night, Silk Sonic won Record of the Year for “Leave the Door Open.” The song also won “Song of the Year.” Jon Batiste, Stephen Colbert’s bandleader for CBS’ “The Late Show,” won Album of the Year for “We Are.” All told, Batiste had five wins from his 11 nominations; both of those numbers were highs last night.
Olivia Rodrigo, who first rose to fame on Disney’s “Bizaardvark” and “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,” won Best New Artist. She sings “drivers license,” which won Best Pop Solo Performance. Rodrigo’s album “Sour” won the gramophone for Best Pop Vocal Album.
Doja Cat featuring SZA won the Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, besting Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga. Bennett and Gaga took home the trophy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, which is differentiated as “containing at least 51 percent playing time of new traditional pop recordings.”
The Foo Fighters won Best Rock Album for “Making a Fire” and Best Rock Song for “Waiting on a War,” nine days after drummer Taylor Hawkins died. The entire list of 2022 Grammy winners can be found here.
The 2022 Grammys were originally scheduled for January 31, but were pushed to April 3 due to the winter surge of Covid’s Omnicron variant.
