[3] The event was subsequently cancelled on August 24, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and winners were revealed on September 4 to 7, 2020.

[5] The most nominated artists were Eilish and Shawn Mendes with seven each, followed by Taylor Swift and Camila Cabello who tied with six.

[6][7] The ceremony was originally to take place at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, which was scheduled on March 29, 2020.

On March 12, due to the state of California restricting gatherings to 250 people in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, which it had already declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, and has cancelled scores of television events through March into July, along with postponing the ACM Awards and Billboard Music Awards.

Half of the ceremony's original March 29 timeslot was retained by iHeartMedia, with both them and Fox then promoting a series of musical performances from several popular artists and bands performing from home via video and teleconferencing platforms compiled together as the iHeart Living Room Concert for America hosted by Elton John, along with charitable appeals for Feeding America and the First Responders Children's Foundation.