July 19, 2018 

City News Service 

 

The Recording Academy today announced the date for the Grammy Awards’ return to Los Angeles, with the 61st annual ceremony set for Feb. 10 at Staples Center.

 

The Grammys were held in New York earlier this year in honor of the show’s 60th anniversary.

 

Grammy nominations will be announced Dec. 5, under new guidelines announced last month that will increase the number of nominees from five to eight in the show’s major categories – record, album and song of the year and best new artist.

 

The expansion is seen as a response by the Recording Academy to recent criticism over the sparse number of female nominees in major categories.

 

Next year’s Grammys will be the last ceremony overseen by Recording Academy President Neil Portnow, who came under fire for his response to questions about the lack of female nominees, saying women artists and would-be executives need “to step up.”

 

Portnow announced in May that he will step down as president and CEO when is contract expires in July 2019. 

Category: Arts & Culture