The Weeknd has officially decided to boycott the Grammys altogether, following his previous ‘After Hours’ snub last November, sharing, ‘Because of the secret committees, I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys.’
Back in November, fans were shocked when The Weeknd was not nominated for a single Grammy award, despite his roaring success of a fourth studio album, After Hours.
Now, the singer has shared in an official statement to the New York Times that he will completely boycott the awards moving forward. This comes after he took to Twitter and called out the Recording Academy, ‘The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency.’
The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency…
— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) November 25, 2020
The Recording Academy’s chief executive had then shared that the institution is looking for ways to improve, ‘We’re all disappointed when anyone is upset. But I will say that we are constantly evolving.’
He added, ‘And this year, as in past years, we are going to take a hard look at how to improve our awards process, including the nomination review committees.’
The Weeknd tells The New York Times that he will boycott the #Grammys moving forward following his 2021 nomination snub:
“Because of the secret committees, I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys,” pic.twitter.com/Y8h1LvuKeE
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) March 11, 2021
Elsewhere, multiple artists have also raised questions about the Grammys, including; Frank Ocean; Kanye West; and Jay-Z.
Addressing the lack of diversity, The Weeknd wrote, ‘In the last 61 years of the Grammys, only 10 Black artists have won album of the year. I don’t want to make this about me. That’s just a fact’.
Frank Ocean after refusing to submit Blonde to the Grammys despite it being one of the best AOTY:
“It doesn’t seem to be representing well for people who come from where I come from, & hold down what I hold down”
The news of The Weeknd now doing the same is no surprise pic.twitter.com/Nm0ir1dtCc
— Wow, That’s R&B🤯 (@wowthatsrnb) March 11, 2021
The Weeknd’s manager Wassim Slaiby shared, ‘The Grammys should handle their legacy and clean it up to raise the bar to a level where everyone could be proud to hold up that award. This is [the Recording Academy Chairman Harvey Mason Jr.]‘s chance to step up and have his legacy be the guy who got the Grammys finally right.’
Meanwhile, the 2021 Grammy Awards will take place on March 14.
