The 65th Grammy Awards will be held on Feb. 5 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. They will be televised on CBS Television and stream live and on-demand on Paramount+ starting at 8 p.m. EST. The awards are the most prestigious in the music industry and recognize the accomplishments of performers, songwriters and composers, production personnel, and others in the recorded music field. (These are the women who have won the most Grammys of all time.)
The question is will anyone be watching? The ratings for the Grammys have plunged in recent years.
To determine the most watched Grammys of the last 40 years, 24/7 Tempo reviewed historical data on audience viewership from Nielsen. Grammy ceremonies from 1983 to 2022 were ranked based on Nielsen live-plus-same-day data on total television audience. Data on Album of the Year Award, Record of the Year Award, and Best New Artist Award winners is from The Recording Academy.
Like the CMA Awards, the Golden Globes, or the Academy Awards, the Grammy Awards have seen steep viewing declines in recent decades. Last year’s show had 8.9 million viewers, a slight uptick from the Grammys’ all-time low the year before when the awards were virtual because of the pandemic. Both previous years’ ratings represented a drop of about 50% in total viewers from 2020.
Click here to see the most watched Grammy ceremonies of the last 40 years
Television big shots might be yearning for the 1980s, when the Grammys were boffo for ratings. Four of the five highest-rated shows aired in the 1980s. The top-rated program by far was in 1984, when Michael Jackson dominated the awards. The 2012 Grammys were the only program not from the 1980s that cracked the top five, when English singer Adele was the big winner. (These are the 100 best-selling pop albums of all time.)
40. 63rd Annual Grammy Awards (2021)
> Ceremony viewership: 8.8 million
> Album of the Year: Taylor Swift, “Folklore”
> Record of the Year: Billie Eilish, “Everything I Wanted”
> Best New Artist: Megan Thee Stallion
> Host: Trevor Noah
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39. 64th Annual Grammy Awards (2022)
> Ceremony viewership: 8.9 million
> Album of the Year: Jon Batiste, “We Are”
> Record of the Year: Silk Sonic, “Leave the Door Open”
> Best New Artist: Olivia Rodrigo
> Host: Trevor Noah
38. 48th Annual Grammy Awards (2006)
> Ceremony viewership: 17.0 million
> Album of the Year: U2, “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb”
> Record of the Year: Green Day, “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”
> Best New Artist: John Legend
> Host: None
37. 50th Annual Grammy Awards (2008)
> Ceremony viewership: 17.2 million
> Album of the Year: Herbie Hancock, “River: The Joni Letters”
> Record of the Year: Amy Winehouse, “Rehab”
> Best New Artist: Amy Winehouse
> Host: None
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36. 37th Annual Grammy Awards (1995)
> Ceremony viewership: 17.3 million
> Album of the Year: Tony Bennett, “MTV Unplugged”
> Record of the Year: Sheryl Crow, “All I Wanna Do”
> Best New Artist: Sheryl Crow
> Host: Paul Reiser
35. 62nd Annual Grammy Awards (2020)
> Ceremony viewership: 18.7 million
> Album of the Year: Billie Eilish, “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?”
> Record of the Year: Billie Eilish, “Bad Guy”
> Best New Artist: Billie Eilish
> Host: Alicia Keys
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34. 47th Annual Grammy Awards (2005)
> Ceremony viewership: 18.8 million
> Album of the Year: Ray Charles & Various Artists, “Genius Loves Company”
> Record of the Year: Ray Charles & Norah Jones, “Here We Go Again”
> Best New Artist: Maroon 5
> Host: Queen Latifah
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33. 44th Annual Grammy Awards (2002)
> Ceremony viewership: 19.0 million
> Album of the Year: Various Artists, “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”
> Record of the Year: U2, “Walk On”
> Best New Artist: Alicia Keys
> Host: Jon Stewart
32. 51st Annual Grammy Awards (2009)
> Ceremony viewership: 19.0 million
> Album of the Year: Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, “Raising Sand”
> Record of the Year: Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, “Please Read the Letter”
> Best New Artist: Adele
> Host: None
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31. 39th Annual Grammy Awards (1997)
> Ceremony viewership: 19.2 million
> Album of the Year: Celine Dion, “Falling into You”
> Record of the Year: Eric Clapton, “Change the World”
> Best New Artist: LeAnn Rimes
> Host: Ellen DeGeneres
30. 60th Annual Grammy Awards (2018)
> Ceremony viewership: 19.8 million
> Album of the Year: Bruno Mars, “24K Magic”
> Record of the Year: Bruno Mars, “24K Magic”
> Best New Artist: Alessia Cara
> Host: James Corden
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29. 61st Annual Grammy Awards (2019)
> Ceremony viewership: 19.9 million
> Album of the Year: Kacey Musgraves, “Golden Hour”
> Record of the Year: Childish Gambino, “This Is America”
> Best New Artist: Dua Lipa
> Host: Alicia Keys
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28. 49th Annual Grammy Awards (2007)
> Ceremony viewership: 20.1 million
> Album of the Year: Dixie Chicks, “Taking the Long Way”
> Record of the Year: Dixie Chicks, “Not Ready to Make Nice”
> Best New Artist: Carrie Underwood
> Host: None
27. 38th Annual Grammy Awards (1996)
> Ceremony viewership: 21.5 million
> Album of the Year: Alanis Morissette, “Jagged Little Pill”
> Record of the Year: Seal, “Kiss from a Rose”
> Best New Artist: Hootie & the Blowfish
> Host: Ellen DeGeneres
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26. 34th Annual Grammy Awards (1992)
> Ceremony viewership: 23.1 million
> Album of the Year: Natalie Cole, “Unforgettable… with Love”
> Record of the Year: Natalie Cole (With Nat King Cole), “Unforgettable”
> Best New Artist: Marc Cohn
> Host: Whoopi Goldberg
25. 31st Annual Grammy Awards (1989)
> Ceremony viewership: 23.6 million
> Album of the Year: George Michael, “Faith”
> Record of the Year: Bobby McFerrin, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”
> Best New Artist: Tracy Chapman
> Host: Billy Crystal
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24. 36th Annual Grammy Awards (1994)
> Ceremony viewership: 23.7 million
> Album of the Year: Whitney Houston, “The Bodyguard”
> Record of the Year: Whitney Houston, “I Will Always Love You”
> Best New Artist: Toni Braxton
> Host: Garry Shandling
23. 45th Annual Grammy Awards (2003)
> Ceremony viewership: 24.8 million
> Album of the Year: Norah Jones, “Come Away with Me”
> Record of the Year: Norah Jones, “Don’t Know Why”
> Best New Artist: Norah Jones
> Host: None
22. 41st Annual Grammy Awards (1999)
> Ceremony viewership: 24.9 million
> Album of the Year: Lauryn Hill, “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill”
> Record of the Year: Celine Dion, “My Heart Will Go On”
> Best New Artist: Lauryn Hill
> Host: Rosie O’Donnell
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21. 58th Annual Grammy Awards (2016)
> Ceremony viewership: 24.9 million
> Album of the Year: Taylor Swift, “1989”
> Record of the Year: Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars, “Uptown Funk”
> Best New Artist: Meghan Trainor
> Host: LL Cool J
20. 40th Annual Grammy Awards (1998)
> Ceremony viewership: 25.0 million
> Album of the Year: Bob Dylan, “Time Out of Mind”
> Record of the Year: Shawn Colvin, “Sunny Came Home”
> Best New Artist: Paula Cole
> Host: Kelsey Grammer
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19. 57th Annual Grammy Awards (2015)
> Ceremony viewership: 25.3 million
> Album of the Year: Beck, “Morning Phase”
> Record of the Year: Sam Smith, “Stay with Me (Darkchild Version)”
> Best New Artist: Sam Smith
> Host: LL Cool J
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18. 52nd Annual Grammy Awards (2010)
> Ceremony viewership: 25.8 million
> Album of the Year: Taylor Swift, “Fearless”
> Record of the Year: Kings of Leon, “Use Somebody”
> Best New Artist: Zac Brown Band
> Host: None
17. 59th Annual Grammy Awards (2017)
> Ceremony viewership: 26.1 million
> Album of the Year: Adele, “25”
> Record of the Year: Adele, “Hello”
> Best New Artist: Chance the Rapper
> Host: James Corden
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16. 46th Annual Grammy Awards (2004)
> Ceremony viewership: 26.3 million
> Album of the Year: OutKast, “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below”
> Record of the Year: Coldplay, “Clocks”
> Best New Artist: Evanescence
> Host: None
15. 53rd Annual Grammy Awards (2011)
> Ceremony viewership: 26.6 million
> Album of the Year: Arcade Fire, “The Suburbs”
> Record of the Year: Lady Antebellum, “Need You Now”
> Best New Artist: Esperanza Spalding
> Host: None
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14. 43rd Annual Grammy Awards (2001)
> Ceremony viewership: 26.6 million
> Album of the Year: Steely Dan, “Two Against Nature”
> Record of the Year: U2, “Beautiful Day”
> Best New Artist: Shelby Lynne
> Host: Jon Stewart
13. 42nd Annual Grammy Awards (2000)
> Ceremony viewership: 27.8 million
> Album of the Year: Santana, “Supernatural”
> Record of the Year: Santana featuring Rob Thomas, “Smooth”
> Best New Artist: Christina Aguilera
> Host: Rosie O’Donnell
12. 29th Annual Grammy Awards (1987)
> Ceremony viewership: 27.9 million
> Album of the Year: Paul Simon, “Graceland”
> Record of the Year: Steve Winwood, “Higher Love”
> Best New Artist: Bruce Hornsby & The Range
> Host: Billy Crystal
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11. 55th Annual Grammy Awards (2013)
> Ceremony viewership: 28.4 million
> Album of the Year: Mumford & Sons, “Babel”
> Record of the Year: Gotye featuring Kimbra, “Somebody That I Used to Know”
> Best New Artist: Fun
> Host: LL Cool J
10. 56th Annual Grammy Awards (2014)
> Ceremony viewership: 28.5 million
> Album of the Year: Daft Punk, “Random Access Memories”
> Record of the Year: Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams & Nile Rodgers, “Get Lucky”
> Best New Artist: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
> Host: LL Cool J
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9. 32nd Annual Grammy Awards (1990)
> Ceremony viewership: 28.8 million
> Album of the Year: Bonnie Raitt, “Nick of Time”
> Record of the Year: Bette Midler, “Wind Beneath My Wings”
> Best New Artist: Milli Vanilli (rescinded)
> Host: Garry Shandling
8. 33rd Annual Grammy Awards (1991)
> Ceremony viewership: 28.9 million
> Album of the Year: Quincy Jones & Various Artists, “Back on the Block”
> Record of the Year: Phil Collins, “Another Day in Paradise”
> Best New Artist: Mariah Carey
> Host: Garry Shandling
7. 35th Annual Grammy Awards (1993)
> Ceremony viewership: 29.9 million
> Album of the Year: Eric Clapton, “Unplugged”
> Record of the Year: Eric Clapton, “Tears in Heaven”
> Best New Artist: Arrested Development
> Host: Garry Shandling
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6. 28th Annual Grammy Awards (1986)
> Ceremony viewership: 30.4 million
> Album of the Year: Phil Collins, “No Jacket Required”
> Record of the Year: USA for Africa, “We Are the World”
> Best New Artist: Sade
> Host: Kenny Rogers
5. 25th Annual Grammy Awards (1983)
> Ceremony viewership: 30.9 million
> Album of the Year: Toto, “Toto IV”
> Record of the Year: Toto, “Rosanna”
> Best New Artist: Men at Work
> Host: John Denver
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4. 30th Annual Grammy Awards (1988)
> Ceremony viewership: 32.8 million
> Album of the Year: U2, “The Joshua Tree”
> Record of the Year: Paul Simon, “Graceland”
> Best New Artist: Jody Watley
> Host: Billy Crystal
3. 27th Annual Grammy Awards (1985)
> Ceremony viewership: 37.1 million
> Album of the Year: Lionel Richie, “Can’t Slow Down”
> Record of the Year: Tina Turner, “What’s Love Got to Do with It”
> Best New Artist: Cyndi Lauper
> Host: John Denver
2. 54th Annual Grammy Awards (2012)
> Ceremony viewership: 39.9 million
> Album of the Year: Adele, “21”
> Record of the Year: Adele, “Rolling in the Deep”
> Best New Artist: Bon Iver
> Host: LL Cool J
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1. 26th Annual Grammy Awards (1984)
> Ceremony viewership: 51.7 million
> Album of the Year: Michael Jackson, “Thriller”
> Record of the Year: Michael Jackson, “Beat It”
> Best New Artist: Culture Club
> Host: John Denver
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