The 56th Annual Grammy Awards presentation was held on January 26, 2014, at Staples Center in Los Angeles.[2] The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT and was hosted for the third time by LL Cool J. The show was moved to January to avoid competing with the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, as was the case in 2010.
The eligibility period for the 56th Annual Grammy Awards was October 1, 2012, to September 30, 2013.[3] The nominations were announced on December 6, 2013 during a live televised concert on CBS, The Grammy Nominations Concert Live – Countdown to Music's Biggest Night.[4]Jay Z received the most nominations with nine. Justin Timberlake, Kendrick Lamar, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Pharrell Williams each received seven nominations. Daft Punk and Pharrell Williams were nominated twice for both Album of the Year and Record of the Year. Sound engineer Bob Ludwig received the most nominations by a non-performing artist, with five.[5][6]
On June 4, 2013, the Recording Academy approved a number of changes recommended by its Awards & Nominations Committee, including adding a new category for Best Americana Song to the American Music field. This songwriters' award will encompass all the subgenres in this field such as Americana, bluegrass, blues, folk, and regional roots music. The Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance category was renamed Best Metal Performance and became a stand-alone category. Hard rock performances will now be screened in the Best Rock Performance category. The Music Video field will become the Best Music Video/Film field. Its two categories will be renamed: Best Short Form Music Video will now be known as Best Music Video and Best Long Form Music Video will change into Best Music Film. These changes bring the total number of categories at the 2014 Grammy Awards to 82, up from 81 at the 2013 Grammy Awards.[15]