Sunday night’s Grammy Awards found their biggest audience in three years, early TV ratings indicate.
Fast national ratings from CBS and Paramount+ show that 12.4 million viewers tuned in to the 2023 Grammys on Sunday night, according to The Hollywood Reporter. (THR will have final ratings on Tuesday morning.) The 2022 show drew 9.59 million viewers, meaning this year’s telecast saw a 30 percent bump year over year.
The last biggest audience for the Grammys was at the pre-pandemic January 2020 awards show, which drew 18.69 million viewers.
Paramount+ says the 2023 Grammys drew the biggest livestreaming audience in the streamer’s history, though no exact numbers were provided to The Hollywood Reporter.
The 2023 Grammy Awards, emceed by third-time host Trevor Noah, awarded the night’s Big Four prizes to a quartet of artists: Harry Styles’ Harry’s House won album of the year, Lizzo’s “About Damn Time” won record of the year, Bonnie Raitt’s “And Just Like That” won song of the year, and jazz singer Samara Joy won best new artist.
Standout performances included Bad Bunny’s euphoric opening number of “El Apagón” and “Después de la Playa”; the Questlove-led 50th-anniversary salute to hip-hop, which included artists from Queen Latifah to GloRilla; and Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ crimson-hued spectacle of eventual best pop duo/group recording winner “Unholy.”