Halsey added her voice Saturday to the chorus of artists criticizing the Grammy Awards.
The 26-year-old pop star was not among the nominees announced last week for the 63rd Grammy Awards, which will be handed out in January.
“The Grammys are an elusive process,” Halsey said in an Instagram Story. “It can often be about behind the scenes private performances, knowing the right people, campaigning through the grapevine, with the right handshake and ‘bribes’ that can be just ambiguous enough to pass as ‘not bribes.’”
Halsey claimed Grammy nominations go to artists who commit to doing exclusive performances on the show, generating “millions in advertising.”
Halsey’s only Grammy nominations, in 2016, were for her contributions to The Chainsmokers’ hit “Closer” and to “The Feeling” on Justin Bieber’s album Purpose.
The singer’s comments came days after The Weeknd, who was also not nominated, tweeted: “The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency…” He later added: “Collaboratively planning a performance for weeks to not being invited? In my opinion zero nominations = you’re not invited!”
Other artists weighed in. “How the f**k did blinding lights not get nominated lol,” tweeted Charlie Puth. Nicki Minaj shared: “Never forget the Grammys didn’t give me my best new artist award when I had 7 songs simultaneously charting on billboard & bigger first week than any female rapper in the last decade- went on to inspire a generation. They gave it to the white man Bon Iver.”
In a statement last week, Recording Academy chair and interim president/CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said: “Unfortunately, every year, there are fewer nominations than the number of deserving artists."
The Weeknd’s fellow Canadian artist Justin Bieber earned four nominations but complained about being left out of the R&B 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. For this not to be put into that category feels weird considering from the chords to the melodies to the vocal style all the way down to the hip hop drums that were chosen it is undeniably, unmistakably an R&B album!”
In her message, Halsey said the Grammys are “not always about the music or quality or culture.” She wrote: “While I am THRILLED for my talented friends who were recognized this year, I am hoping for more transparency or reform. But I'm sure this post will blacklist me anyway.”