Music’s favorite night is going back to its original roots by returning to the East Coast. Next year, New York will be the setting of the Grammy’s for the first time since 2003. The 2018 billing of the Grammy’s will be its 60th edition and will be aired on CBS, January 28th at Madison Square Garden.
NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio and executives from MSG, CBS and the Recording Academy put on a press conference Tuesday morning where they announced the change of locations.
“There is no better place for music’s biggest night than the world’s greatest city,” said de Blasio. “Bringing these awards back to the city will allow us to further support and foster the music industry in New York.”
Throughout the history of The Grammys, the show has been performed all across the country including Los Angeles, New York and even Chicago. The first show was held on May 4, 1959, to honor and respect the musical accomplishments by performers for the year 1958. The first show was held simultaneously – Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills California, and Park Sheraton Hotel in New York City. Since then, throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, the Grammys switched back and forth between New York and Los Angeles. It eventually set up it’s long-term stay at the Staples Center in L.A. beginning in 2004.
Neil Portnow, president of the Recording Academy, told Billboard. “We’ve been in L.A. for many years; we used to bounce back and forth from time to time. With the East Coast being the home for half the membership of the Academy — certainly there’s a very vibrant, vital part of the music industry on the East Coast and in New York — and given that this is an anniversary year for us, it’s a special chance to celebrate.”
It is said that the Grammy’s will bring in a lot of tourism and money to New York. According to the Mayor’s office, the Grammys are expected to bring $200 million in economic benefits to the city — $82 million in direct spend and $120 million indirectly — as well as an additional several hundred million in tourism.
The previous awards ceremony was hosted by CBS’s Late Night Show’s host, James Corden for the first time. Some of the winners included Adele, Drake, Chance the Rapper and the Chainsmokers. The awards show was broadcasted on February 12th, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.