The Weeknd says he won’t let himself be considered for Grammy nominations again unless the Recording Academy becomes more transparent.
“Because of secret committees, I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys,” the Toronto-born singer said in a statement to The New York Times.
The Weeknd is referring to the committees assembled by the Recording Academy to determine nominations using shortlists compiled by a screening committee that sifts through thousands of submissions.
The Weeknd first called for changes last November when the nominations for the 63rd Grammy Awards were announced and his name was not mentioned – despite his album After Hours being one of the most successful of 2020.
“The Grammys remain corrupt,” he tweeted at the time. “You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency…”
In January, ahead of his performance in the Super Bowl halftime show, The Weeknd told Billboard that getting snubbed by the Grammys this year felt like “a sucker punch.”
He explained: “I definitely felt ... I felt things. I don’t know if it was sadness or anger. I think it was just confusion. I just wanted answers. Like, ‘What happened?’ We did everything right, I think.
“I’m not a cocky person. I’m not arrogant. People told me I was going to get nominated. The world told me. Like, ‘This is it; this is your year.’ We were all very confused.”
The Weeknd insisted he’s over it. “I have three Grammys, which mean nothing to me now, obviously,” he said. “It’s not like, ‘Oh, I want the Grammy!’ It’s just that this happened, and I’m down to get in front of the fire, as long as it never happens again.
“I suck at giving speeches anyways. Forget awards shows.”
The Weeknd’s three Grammys came from 10 nominations between 2014 and 2018 – of which only two were in one of the four “General Field” categories. Beauty Behind the Madness was nominated for Album of the Year (it had to settle for Best Urban Contemporary Album) and “Can’t Feel My Face” was up for Record of the Year (it lost to “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars).
Halsey, who was also snubbed by the Grammys, added her take in November. “The Grammys are an elusive process,” she 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.”
Canada's Justin Bieber is reportedly not appearing on Sunday’s Grammys broadcast because he is upset that his album Changes was not nominated in R&B categories.
It’s up for Best Pop Vocal Album and Bieber has noms for Pop Solo Performance (“Yummy”) and Pop Duo/Group Performance (“Intentions” ft. Quavo). His collaboration with Dan + Shay is up for Best Country Duo/Group Performance.
“I set out to make an R&B album. Changes was and is an R&B album,” he wrote in a message on Instagram last November. “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!”
Earlier this week, Zayn Malik took aim at the Grammys on Twitter. “F**k the grammys and everyone associated,” he wrote. “Unless you shake hands and send gifts, there’s no nomination considerations. Next year I’ll send you a basket of confectionary.”
Malik’s most recent album Nobody Is Listening was released in January – more than four months after the deadline for eligibility, according to the Recording Academy – and the nominations for the 63rd Grammy Awards were announced in November.
His former One Direction mate Harry Styles, who is opening Sunday’s show, is up for three Grammys this year: Best Pop Solo performance (“Watermelon Sugar”), Best Pop Vocal Album (Fine Line) and Best Music Video (“Adore You”).