Trevor Noah left The Daily Show behind, but he will still host the 65th Grammy Awards in February 2023. This will be the third consecutive Grammys ceremony for the comedian. Noah surprisingly announced in September that he was leaving The Daily Show, and his final episode aired on Dec. 8.
Noah confirmed he will be back at the Grammys in a Billboard cover story published on Thursday. The comedian is only the second person to host the Grammys three or more times after LL Cool J hosted five consecutive ceremonies. Since then, James Corden and Alicia Keys both hosted twice before Noah hosted for the first time in March 2021.
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“It is thrilling,” Noah told Billboard of hosting for the third time. “For me, it’s a cheat code because I’m a fan of almost all the people who are there. It has also been interesting because of the journey.” The first time Noah hosted, the Grammys had to figure out how to move forward during the coronavirus pandemic. The 2022 Grammys were moved to Las Vegas because of concerns over the COVID-19 Omicron variant. The 2023 Grammys will return to the Crypto.com Arena (formerly the Staples Center). “Now it’s exciting [because] it’ll be the first one for me back in L.A. – that’s hopefully not just normal, but different for the right reasons,” Noah said.
Noah will have some creative input in the show, which will be executive-produced by Ben Winston. The producer “creates an environment where you don’t work for him, you work with him,” Noah told Billboard. “That’s what makes it so much fun. We’re always thinking of new ideas, coming up with different moments – him proposing the genesis of the idea and then me figuring out how to take it somewhere else or [vice versa].”
As for why he’s coming back to the Grammys after leaving The Daily Show, Noah said he enjoys the challenge of hosting a major awards show. He also really enjoys seeing the nominees perform up close.
“I’m enjoying the fact that we’re juggling flaming swords,” he said. “Just putting it all together, combining different genres, getting the musicians in sync with each other and the audience, keeping the audience in tune with what’s happening. One of my favorite things about the Grammys as a whole is it is one of the few places where you get to experience artists in their rawest element, which is performing their music live.”
The 2023 Grammys will air live on CBS and stream on Paramount+ on Feb. 3. The show will honor the best music releases between Oct. 1, 2021 and Sept. 30, 3022. Beyonce is the most-nominated artist with nine. Her album Renaissance is up for Album of the Year, while “Break My Soul” was nominated for both Song of the Year and Record of the Year. Kendrick Lamar received eight nominations, while Adele and Brandi Carlile picked up seven each.