Voting to determine who makes the list of nominations for the 2023 Grammys began Thursday and, predictably, there are some questions and complaints.
Nicki Minaj’s hit “Super Freaky Girl” appears on the first round ballot for Best Pop Solo Performance even though the track was submitted for consideration in rap categories.
“Super Freaky Girl” samples the 1981 Rick James hit “Super Freak.” In 1991, MC Hammer won Best Rap Solo Performance at the Grammys for “U Can’t Touch This,” which also samples “Super Freak.”
Minaj said it’s also unfair because Latto’s “Big Energy,” which samples another 1981 song, Tom Tom Club’s “Genius of Love,” is included in rap categories.
“I have no prob being moved out the RAP category as long as we r ALL being treated FAIRLY. If SFG has 2B moved out RAP then so does Big Energy!,” Minaj tweeted on Thursday. “ANY1 who says diff is simply a Nicki hater or a troll.”
The rap star added: “Could you imagine someone telling you not to ‘complain’ about being treated unfairly at your workplace? This is my job. I work very hard. No diff from a 9-5 where you should speak up for yourself if you know you’re a great employee & continue to be purposely sabotaged.”
(In 2020, Justin Bieber crticized the Grammys for putting his album Changes in pop categories. “I set out to make an R&B album. Changes was and is an R&B album,” he wrote in a message on Instagram. “It is not being acknowledged as an R&B album which is very strange to me.")
The first round ballots also show that Canadian artists Drake and The Weeknd did not submit themselves for consideration despite their respective albums Honestly, Nevermind and Dawn FM being eligible.
Both are named on ballots for their contributions to tracks by other artists. (This year, The Weeknd won a Grammy for Best Melodic Rap Performance as a featured artist on Ye’s “Hurricane.”)
Drake has been outspoken about his frustration with the Grammy Awards and pulled his nominated album Certified Lover Boy and single “Way 2 Sexy” from the 2022 ballots. The Weeknd vowed in 2021 to boycott the Grammys after his album After Hours was snubbed.
“Because of the secret committees, I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys,” he said at the time.
Also not submitting themselves for consideration this year are Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, whose Silk Sonic track “Leave the Door Open” won Grammys for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, R&B Song of the Year and Best R&B Performance this year.
An Evening With Silk Sonic was eligible for consideration in categories like Album of the Year.
“Silk Sonic would like to gracefully, humbly and most importantly, sexually, bow out of submitting our album this year,” read a statement from Mars on Thursday.
“Andy and I, and everyone that worked on this project, won the moment the world responded to ‘Leave the Door Open.’ Everything else was just icing on the cake. We thank the Grammys for allowing us to perform on their platform — not once but twice — and awarding us at last year’s ceremony. We’d be crazy to ask for anything more.”
Songs and albums released between Oct. 1, 2021 and Sept. 30, 2022 are eligible for Grammy nominations, which will be announced on Nov. 15. The show is set for Feb. 5.