‘Satanic’ Grammys Continue Award Show’s Ratings Slump

The ratings are in for the 2023 Grammy Awards show — which featured a “Demonic” performance by artist Sam Smith — and the show continues to struggle to bring in the audience it had pre-pandemic.

According to final same-day Nielsen ratings, the 65th Grammys had 12.55 million viewers — a 31% increase from last year’s numbers — but they are still down compared to the numbers from 2020, The Hollywood Reporter reported.

The show saw a record-low viewership of 9.59 million in 2022, but it had 18.69 million viewers back in 2020.

In the coveted 18-49 age demographic, the Grammys landed a 2.88 rating, which is up by 29% from last year’s showing.

“.. 12.4 million viewers .. That’s a nearly 30 percent improvement” over last year.#grammys $PARA https://t.co/4kAEV6IN2t

— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla) February 6, 2023

However, the 2020 ceremony beat Sunday’s by 46% in the 18-49 demographic and had a rating of 5.4

Despite the low numbers compared to pre-pandemic viewership, the Grammys are still the most watched primetime network event of this season besides sports broadcasts, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

This year’s show saw Harry Styles’ album “Harry’s House” beat out Beyonce’s “Renaissance” for Album of the Year. Fans of the “Crazy in Love” hitmaker reacted vocally to the upset on social media, as The Daily Wire previously reported.

The show also featured a segment with artist Sam Smith wearing a horned hat while performing with Kim Petras — who is a biological male — in what many called a  “demonic” show. The two performed on stage as they sang their song “Unholy” surrounded by red lights with a fiery backdrop. Their performance also used “props that had allusions to BDSM themes,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Related: ‘Literally A Tribute To Satan’: Viewers Slam ‘Demonic’ Performance At The Grammys