The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held in and around the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles on March 14, 2021.

It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from September 1, 2019, to August 31, 2020.

The nominations were revealed via a virtual livestream on November 24, 2020.

Performers for the ceremony were announced on March 7, 2021.

South African comedian Trevor Noah hosted the ceremony.

The nominations were announced during a virtual livestream on November 24, 2020, by Chair, and Interim Recording Academy President/CEO Harvey Mason Jr., alongside Megan Thee Stallion, Dua Lipa, Mickey Guyton, Lauren Daigle, Pepe Aguilar, Nicola Benedetti, Gayle King, Yemi Alade, Imogen Heap and Sharon Osbourne.

Category alterations

For the 2021 ceremony, the academy announced several changes for different categories and rules:

The category Best Urban Contemporary Album has been renamed Best Progressive R&B Album.
The category Best Rap/Sung Performance has been renamed Best Melodic Rap Performance.
Category Best Latin Pop Album has been renamed Best Latin Pop or Urban Album, and the category Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album has been renamed Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album.
The category Best World Music Album has been renamed Best Global Music Album.
The maximum number of releases has been removed from the category Best New Artist.

The category Best Musical Theater Album can now only award up to four principal vocalists (previously unlimited) in addition to the album producer and the lyricists/composers (if the album contains at least 51% new material). In the case of an ensemble-driven piece, all vocalists will receive a winner’s certificate

Venue and production

63rd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held at Los Angeles Convention Center, while the show’s usual venue—Staples Center—served as the backdrop.

The show was three and a half hours long.

The Recording Academy appointed Ben Winston as the executive producer of the show, his first time working on a Grammy show.

Winston, via Rolling Stone, stated that the show would feature multiple stages, but no audience, highlighting the “creative triumphs, social justice movements, as well as COVID-19‘s impact on the arts”.

Regarding the venue shift, Winston stated that he does believe Staples is a safe place, but he wanted

“to go above and beyond to make even the most-skeptical participants feel undoubtedly safe”.

The production was overseen by COVID-19 safety officers.

To minimize physical contact, artists had their own backstage area, and entered the stages from different directions.

The show involved five equally sized stages arranged in a circle facing inwards; one of the stages was for presenters and the other four for performers. \

Crew members worked from the center of the circular set. As soon as one performance ended, the next stage became active, and so on.

Each stage was changed every 45 minutes and replaced with a different performer in the lineup. Winston mentioned that the said concept was inspired by his favorite shows Jools Holland and TFI Friday.

The show was a mix of live and pre-recorded performances, as “a fully live show would involve too many crew members moving sets and risking close contact”. However, the whole show was planned to feel entirely live.

To help plan the sprawling production and immersive spectacle of the show, Winston collaborated with a multitude of producers, such as co-executive producer Jesse Collins, who produced The Weeknd’s Super Bowl halftime show; co-executive producer Raj Kapoor, who handled creative direction for many artists on the last seven Grammy shows and produced Las Vegas concert residencies for Backstreet Boys and Mariah Carey; producer Fatima Robinson, worked on the Black Eyed Peas’ 2011 halftime show; producer Misty Buckley, who produced Kacey Musgraves’ 2020 Christmas show; talent executive Patrick Menton from Dick Clark Productions; James Corden collaborator Josie Cliff; and Hamish Hamilton, who directed Super Bowl halftimes, Olympic ceremonies, Academy Award, and Emmy Award shows.

BELOW ARE THE GOSPEL/CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC AWARDEES

Best Gospel Performance/Song

This award is given to the artist(s) and songwriter(s) (for new compositions) for the best traditional Christian, roots gospel or contemporary gospel single or track.

WONDERFUL IS YOUR NAME
Melvin Crispell III
RELEASE (LIVE)
Ricky Dillard Featuring Tiff Joy; David Frazier, songwriter
COME TOGETHER
Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins Present: The Good News; Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins & Jazz Nixon, producers; Lashawn Daniels, Rodney Jerkins, Lecrae Moore & Jazz Nixon, songwriters
WON’T LET GO
Travis Greene; Travis Greene, songwriter
MOVIN’ ON – WINNER
Jonathan McReynolds & Mali Music; Darryl L. Howell, Jonathan Caleb McReynolds, Kortney Jamaal Pollard & Terrell Demetrius Wilson, songwriters

Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song

This award is given to the artist(s) and songwriter(s) (for new compositions) for the best contemporary Christian music single or track, (including pop, rap/hip-hop, Latin, or rock.

THE BLESSING (LIVE)
Kari Jobe, Cody Carnes & Elevation Worship; Chris Brown, Cody Carnes, Kari Jobe Carnes & Steven Furtick, songwriters
SUNDAY MORNING
Lecrae Featuring Kirk Franklin; Denisia Andrews, Jones Terrence Antonio, Saint Bodhi, Rafael X. Brown, Brittany Coney, Kirk Franklin, Lasanna Harris, Shama Joseph, Stuart Lowery, Lecrae Moore & Nathanael Saint-Fleur, Songwriters
HOLY WATER
We The Kingdom; Andrew Bergthold, Ed Cash, Franni Cash, Martin Cash & Scott Cash, songwriters
FAMOUS FOR (I BELIEVE)
Tauren Wells Featuring Jenn Johnson; Chuck Butler, Krissy Nordhoff, Jordan Sapp, Alexis Slifer & Tauren Wells, songwriters
THERE WAS JESUS – WINNER
Zach Williams & Dolly Parton; Casey Beathard, Jonathan Smith & Zach Williams, songwriters

Best Gospel Album
For albums containing at least 51% playing time of newly recorded, vocal, traditional or contemporary/R&B gospel music recordings.

2ECOND WIND: READY
Anthony Brown & group therAPy
MY TRIBUTE
Myron Butler
CHOIRMASTER
Ricky Dillard
GOSPEL ACCORDING TO PJ – WINNER
PJ Morton
KIERRA
Kierra Sheard

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album

For albums containing at least 51% playing time of newly recorded, vocal, contemporary Christian music, including pop, rap/hip hop, Latin, or rock recordings.

RUN TO THE FATHER
Cody Carnes
ALL OF MY BEST FRIENDS
Hillsong Young & Free
HOLY WATER
We The Kingdom
CITIZEN OF HEAVEN
Tauren Wells
JESUS IS KING – WINNER
Kanye West

Best Roots Gospel Album
For albums containing at least 51% playing time of newly recorded, vocal, traditional/roots gospel music, including country, Southern gospel, bluegrass, and Americana recordings.