According to Variety, The sixty-sixth Grammy Awards saw a sharp increase in viewership on Sunday, drawing an average of 16.9 million viewers with a program full of surprises and high-profile performances. Trevor Noah (The Daily Show, Black Panther) served as the Grammys host for the fourth time in a row. The award show worked out wonderfully for the Recording Academy and CBS.
This is the most watched Grammy Awards ceremony since 2020. In addition, according to Variety, data from Nielsen’s measurement of views on CBS and Paramount Global’s viewership data showed that there was a 34% growth over last year’s show, which averaged 12.4 million viewers.
In addition, with 173% more streams than in 2023, Paramount+ witnessed its highest-ever Grammys audiences.
The most-watched part of the show started at 9:45 p.m. with 18.3 million viewers, and featured Fantasia Barrino (The Color Purple, Soul Kittens Cabaret), Jon Batiste (We Are, World Music Radio), Annie Lennox (Medusa, Lepidoptera), and Stevie Wonder (Songs In The Key Of Life, Signed, Sealed, & Delivered) leading the In Memoriam segment.
Highlights of Sunday’s show included Joni Mitchell’s (Blue, Clouds) first-ever Grammy performance,Taylor Swift’s (1989, Reputation) announcement about her upcoming album The Tortured Poets Department, Tracy Chapman’s (Where You Live, New Beginnings) first public appearance in years, and Celine Dion (Let’s Talk About Love, Falling Into You) surprising everyone by announcing the album of the year award more than a year after disclosing her diagnosis of Stiff Person Syndrome.
The show was produced by Fulwell 73 for the Recording Academy. Ben Winston (Friends: The Reunion, One Direction: This Is Us), Jesse Collins (The Santa Clause, Darkman II: The Return of Durant), and Raj Kapoor (Adele: One Night Only, Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration) were executive producers.
According to Variety, NBCUniversal also had some success on Sunday. With 1.5 million viewers, E! Grammys Live From the Red Carpet had its highest viewership since 2020 and its best telecast in four years. The pre-show E! Countdown to the Red Carpet and the post-show E! After Party attracted the largest crowds in the previous four years.