The Weeknd Won’t Allow His Label To Submit His Music To Grammys Ever Again
The fallout from The Weeknd’s being snubbed by the Grammy Awards continues. To recap, his After Hours album was one of the biggest albums of 2020, but shockingly, he did not get a single nomination for this year’s Grammys. Variety called it “the biggest snub in Grammy history.”
The Weeknd responded to the news via Twitter, saying, “The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency…”
https://twitter.com/theweeknd/status/1331394452447870977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1331394452447870977%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcontent.bbgi.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D331496action%3Dedit
Today, though, he told The New York Times (via a statement) that he said he would boycott the awards from now on. “Because of the secret committees, I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys.”
Variety posits that “someone, and it’s not clear who, simply didn’t want the Weeknd to perform at both the Grammys and the Super Bowl, which were originally scheduled just a week apart (the Grammys were moved from Jan. 31 to this Sunday due to a coronavirus spike in Southern California).”
They note, however, that the Weeknd, the NFL, CBS (which broadcasts both the Grammys and the Super Bowl) and Super Bowl halftime advisor Roc Nation held extensive meetings and worked out the situation so that The Weeknd could perform at both.
The “secret committees” that he mentions is a reference to ousted Recording Academy CEO Deborah Dugan’s accusation about corruption in the Grammy nomination process. Her complaint said, in part, that “The nomination review committees… play a specific role with respect to the selection of Grammy Awards nominees,” and that some board members on the “secret committees” represent, or have relationships with, nominated artists, and that the board uses their positions to push forward those artists. She also alleges that the board manipulates the nominations process.
The 63rd Grammy Awards take place Sunday, March 14 at 8 pm ET.
