Awards shows have struggled to attract and keep viewers’ attention for the last couple of years. The 2023 Grammy Awards on Sunday, February 5, was actually able to do both. The 65th Annual Grammy Awards was the most-watched Grammys since 2020. According to CBS, the Trevor Noah-hosted televised award show enjoyed a 30% increase in viewership from last year’s live ceremony, and the Paramount+ livestream was the largest live-streaming audience across Paramount+ and CBS platforms in the streamer’s history.
The Grammys was the most-watched program on Sunday, the network announced February 6, with over 12.4 million viewers, the largest audience for the Grammys in the last three years, according to Nielsen time zone-adjusted fast national ratings for the evening. Dubbed Music’s Biggest Night, the yearly event continues to be the most-watched music awards show.
On Paramount+, active subscription households were at an all-time high for the event, up 42% in live viewership. And on social media, the Grammy Awards had an estimated 66 billion potential impressions (the estimated number of people who might have viewed posts related to this topic), and #Grammys was trending in the top 10 for 18 hours, peaking at No. 1.
The event is now the No. 1 social entertainment event of 2023, but there are still major televised events like Super Bowl LVII (Sunday, February 12) and the Oscars (Sunday, March 12) to come.
The theme of Music’s Biggest Night were surprise wins. Harry Styles was a major upset, winning Album of the Year over the presumed winner Beyoncé, who broke the record for most Grammy wins in history during the February 5 ceremony. Bonnie Raitt herself was shocked to have won Song of the Year, and Lizzo was surprised to have snagged Record of the Year. A delightful surprise was 23-year-old jazz singer Samara Joy’s win for Best New Artist.
The evening also included an epic medley celebrating 50 years of hip-hop, a rousing opening number from Bad Bunny, a refreshed In Memoriam performance format that viewers loved, and a special performance from Stevie Wonder with guests Smokey Robinson and Chris Stapleton (who will soon sing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl).
A select group of superfans was also chosen to make the pitch for why their favorite artist should win Album of the Year. The group was invited on stage to present the night’s biggest award by Noah, and the eldest of the group got to announce that Styles would take home the gold excitedly.
65th Annual Grammy Awards, Streaming Now, Paramount+