First-time Grammy nominee Darren Criss will host and perform at the 2026 Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony, where the bulk of this year’s Grammys will be handed out ahead of the prime-time telecast. The event will be held at Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 1, and will stream live at 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT on the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel and on live.GRAMMY.com.
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Criss will perform with Helen J. Shen, his co-star in the Broadway musical Maybe Happy Ending. The show won six Tony Awards in June, including two for Criss: best leading actor in a musical and as a producer of the best musical winner. The cast album is nominated for a Grammy as best musical show album. If it wins, Criss will be just an Oscar away from EGOT status. He won a Primetime Emmy in 2018 for his performance as spree killer Andrew Cunanan in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.
Criss also co-hosted the pre-telecast awards at the Tony Awards in June. He and Renée Elise Goldsberry co-hosted the show, dubbed The Tony Awards: Act One.
The opening performance at the Grammy Premiere Ceremony will feature current nominees Grace Potter, Israel Houghton, Lila Iké, Maggie Rose and Trombone Shorty. Other artists scheduled to perform during the event include current nominees Spiritbox, Tasha Cobbs Leonard and Zara Larsson.
Presenters include Dave Koz, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Edgar Barrera, Jesse Welles, Sierra Hull, Trombone Shorty and Jimmy Jam, former chair of the board of trustees of the Recording Academy.
Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. and chair of the board of trustees Dr. Chelsey Green will provide opening remarks. “The Premiere Ceremony is one of the most exciting parts of Grammy weekend,” Mason said in a statement. “Witnessing the ceremony, you see the wide range of genres and crafts that make up our music community.”
The 2026 Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony is produced by Branden Chapman, Chantel Sausedo, Rex Supa and Ruby Marchand on behalf of the Recording Academy. Greg V. Fera is executive producer and Cheche Alara is music producer and music director.
SiriusXM will be backstage during the ceremony with host Jessica Lucero capturing interviews with nominees and winners for their Grammy Sunday broadcast on The Grammy Channel, channel 79 and on the SiriusXM app.
The 2026 Grammy Awards will broadcast live following the Premiere Ceremony on CBS and will stream live and on-demand on Paramount+ at 8-11:30 p.m. ET/5-8:30 p.m. PT.