Last week’s cascade of announcements about award show postponements and cancellations was depressing, even though it was inevitable and inarguably the only prudent course of action.
The Juno Awards were cancelled, as were the GLAAD Media Awards and the Razzie Awards. The ACM Awards, the iHeartRadio Music Awards, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony and Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards were all postponed. The BAFTA Games Awards is moving to a live stream.
There is precedent for real life intruding on awards shows. The 1968 Oscars were delayed two days so that they would follow, rather than precede, the funeral of the assassinated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The 1981 Oscars were delayed a day following the assassination attempt on President Reagan. The 1978 Emmys were interrupted when all three networks went live to cover a speech from President Carter in which he announced a Middle East peace breakthrough.
A closer parallel to today’s situation was the 2001 Emmys, which were delayed seven weeks from their originally planned airdate, Sept. 16, 2001. The show was rescheduled twice, first because it would have followed right on the heels of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, then because the first rescheduled date (Oct. 7) conflicted with the start of the War in Afghanistan.
The global Coronavirus pandemic is so serious that it may seem self-involved to focus on its impact on the entertainment industry — and specifically, awards shows. But entertainment has always been a source of diversion and escape for people in hard times, from people flocking to Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers musicals in the depths of the Great Depression, to their grandchildren daring to venture out again after the shock of 9/11.
That’s why we will welcome awards shows back with open arms — once it’s totally safe for them to resume.
All the postponements are creating havoc with an awards schedule which in recent years has been orderly, if crowded. If all of these postponed shows air as soon the crisis passes, they’ll step on each other—as well as on other scheduled shows that are down the line.
Other major awards shows scheduled for the next few months include the Billboard Latin Music Awards on April 23; the Billboard Music Awards on April 29; the Tony Awards on June 7 and the BET Awards on June 28. There have been no announced changes in any of those dates, though some of them may well also be forced to move.
Here’s just one example of the complications that can ensue when shows are forced to move. The ACM Awards, which were originally set for April 5 in Las Vegas, have been rescheduled for September. That puts the show close to another long-time country music franchise, the CMA Awards. The CMA hasn’t announced the date of this year’s show, but their show last year show aired on Nov. 13. So, unless the CMA delays its show, rather than be five months apart (November to April), they’ll be just two months apart.
Here’s another complication: Final-round voting for the ACMs voting closed on March 9. So, unless the members re-vote, the envelopes that are opened in September will be based on voting that closed fully six months earlier. And if the members re-vote, that wouldn’t really be fair to the artists who won the first time around and might not come out on top again six months later. (All awards are a snapshot of voter sentiment at that moment.) There is no perfect solution.
The Junos were cancelled outright, though in a statement show organizers said: “CARAS (Canadian Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences) will continue to explore options to coordinate an alternative way to honour this year’s Juno Award winners and special award recipients.”
Shawn Mendes was going for a record at this year’s Junos. He was vying to become the first artist in Juno history to win single of the year three years running. The high-flying Mendes can afford to miss out on a moment of televised glory. But Jann Arden, best known in the U.S. for her 1996 hit “Insensitive,” missed out on a moment that might well have been a career highlight. She was set to be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
Whatever show becomes the first major awards show to hit the air following this pandemic would do well to emulate the tone of the 2001 Emmys.
Legendary broadcaster Walter Cronkite opened the show by noting, “In this public celebration of the best in television, this program has been altered considerably from its usual gala to accommodate that difficult melding of our deep grief for our losses, our concern for our safety and, as the president [George W. Bush] suggested and our nation agreed, life must go on in our American traditions.”
Host Ellen DeGeneres referenced the show’s two postponements in her opening gag: “Welcome to the 53rd, 54th and 55th Emmy Awards.”
In a line that brought down the house, she observed, “I feel like I’m in a unique position as host, because, think about it: What would bug the Taliban more than seeing a gay woman in a suit surrounded by Jews?”
In a well-kept surprise, Barbra Streisand closed the show by singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
On Sept. 29, 2001, just 18 days after 9/11, Rudy Giuliani, then New York mayor, appeared on NBC’s Saturday Light Live to welcome that show back to the air.
“Having our city’s institutions up and running sends a message that New York City is open for business. Saturday Night Live is one of our great New York City institutions and that’s why it’s important for me to do your show tonight.”
SNL creator Lorne Michaels interjected, “Can we be funny?
“Why start now?” was Giuliani’s letter-perfect reply.
For information on how to stay safe and receive updates on the spread of the disease in the U.S., visit the CDC website.
