How to watch the 63rd Grammy Awards online in 2021
Because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the 2021 Grammys have been delayed until March 14th and will be held virtually to ensure the safety of everyone involved. As before, the live stream will be available on CBS. Sadly, it is still geo-restricted to the US, Canada, and Australia, meaning that you’ll need a VPN to watch the Grammys from other countries.
How will the red carpet event look because of the pandemic? Will Billie Eilish win as many awards as she did last year? So many questions that we won’t know the answers to unless we tune in and see everything unfold.
| Date: | Sunday, March 14th, 2021 |
| Start: | 8pm ET / 5pm PT |
| Location: | Staples Center, Los Angeles |
| Host: | Trevor Noah |
| Watch online: | CBS All Access |
| Watch on cable: | CBS Television Network |
| Stream outside the USA: | NordVPN |
Short guide on how to watch the Grammys online with a VPN
If you are outside the United States during the live stream, here’s a quick starter guide on how to watch the Grammys from anywhere:
Why do you need a VPN?
If you’re in the US, you can just watch it live on CBS or stream it online via CBS All Access (the first week is free!). For the rest of us, feeding the eyeballs is a bit of a hassle – but don’t worry, where there’s a will, there’s a way, and the name of that way is VPN.
Copyright agreements mean that different online content is available in different regions of the world – it’s called geo-blocking. Fortunately, CBS determines your location by your IP address, which you can change with a VPN service.
In basic terms, a user would get a VPN subscription, download an app for whatever platform they’re using (Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, etc.), log in, and connect to a VPN server in the US. Once that happens, all the traffic goes through that VPN server and CBS will see the IP address of that VPN server, which is in the US.
Some of the better VPN services out there will reliably let you watch the 2021 Grammy Awards.
And of course, VPNs have other use cases too. Once your internet traffic is routed through the VPN server, it becomes encrypted and unreadable to potential onlookers. This ensures privacy and security when connecting to unknown public networks. Additionally, a VPN can potentially increase your connection speed if it’s being throttled by your ISP.
Don’t want CBS All Access? There are other ways to get where you’re going!
While you can only stream the 2021 Grammy Awards on CBS, there are several ways you can access CBS itself. Although these options are quite expensive, they offer more than just CBS and could give you more bang for your buck. Additionally, they have free trials available for new customers.
Here are some of them:
- Hulu Live TV – costs $64.99 a month and includes 65+ channels. However, what channels are available depends on your US ZIP code, or rather, the ZIP code associated with your VPN-given IP address.
- FuboTV – the Starter plan for FuboTV costs $64.99/month and includes over 100 channels, comes with 250 hours of DVR storage and can be viewed on 3 screens at once..
- Youtube TV – this streaming service will set you back $64.99 per month and includes CBS in some ZIP codes.
- AT&T TV – the entertainment package starts at $69.99 and comes with 65+ channels which depend on your US ZIP code.
How to stream the Grammy outside the USA
The Grammys can be officially viewed from the USA, Canada, and Australia. CBS All Access is available in all three of these countries. Naturally, you can simply connect to a VPN server in these locations and take advantage of the free trial of CBS All Access.
In Canada, you also have the option of watching through CityTV, which is accessible with your TV provider credentials.
If you’re in Australia then you can utilize Foxtel Now for $25/month or with their 10-day free trial.
And if you live anywhere else then there’s really no other option except using a VPN and a streaming service of your choice. But not just any VPN will do, you need something that is reliable because networks are working hard to keep these events exclusive. Many IP addresses get blacklisted, so it’s paramount to choose a VPN that can update their servers constantly. My top VPN choices for this are:
- NordVPN ($3.71/month)
- Surfshark ($2.49/month)
- ExpressVPN ($6.67/month)
- VyprVPN ($1.66/month)
The Grammy Awards show
This year the Grammys will be a bit different because of the ongoing pandemic. The initial date had to be postponed, the event will be held virtually, and the winners will have to receive their awards remotely. Nevertheless, it should be very unique and exciting to watch!
The award ceremony will be live-streamed on Sunday, March 14th from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It starts around 8pm ET / 5pm PT and will be hosted by well-known comedian and television host Trevor Noah.
There’s also the option to tune in to the pre-show to have a sneak peek behind the scenes and at the red carpet coverage. It starts at 6:30pm ET / 3:30pm PT.
The live performances should be interesting to watch, as some of the artists include: BTS, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, John Mayer, Taylor Swift, Post Malone, Harry Styles, and many more.
And of course, if you’d like to know the nominations for each category, you can take a look at the entire list on the official Grammy Award website.
It was quite shocking to see that The Weeknd wasn’t nominated for any awards, despite “After Hours” being one of the most commercially successful albums of 2020. The artist voiced his criticism of the Recording Academy and said that it’s corrupt and lacks transparency. He was also meant to perform during the ceremony, but that no longer seems to be the case.
FAQ
Is there a way to watch the Grammys online?
The Grammys can be easily watched online by getting a VPN, connecting to a server in the US, Canada, or Australia. You’ll also need a streaming service with CBS available.
Can I watch the Grammys on Amazon Prime?
Yes, CBS All Access is available to Amazon Prime subscribers as an add-on, which will allow you to watch the award ceremony live.
How do I watch the Grammys on Apple TV?
You can watch the Grammy awards by getting CBS All Access, which can also be viewed on Apple TV.
How to watch Grammys online for free?
You can watch the Grammy online for free by choosing a VPN with a money-back guarantee and a streaming service with a free trial. My suggestion would be NordVPN and CBS All Access.
