The Weeknd Will Boycott All Future Grammy Awards After Receiving No Nominations for ‘After Hours’
Ahead of this weekend’s show, The Weeknd announced that he will boycott the Grammys moving forward after his chart-topping album After Hours was not nominated.
In a recent statement to The New York Times, the “Blinding Lights” singer revealed that he will be boycotting music’s biggest award show following claims of corruption and favoritism. “Because of the secret committees, I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys,” The Weeknd said.
These “secret committees” are responsible for reviewing nomination choices made by the Recording Academy’s voting membership. They’ll then decide who will make the final cut and receive nominations. The committees also have the ability to add their own names not initially voted in by the voting membership with the exception of Album, Record and Song of the year, and Best New Artist.
The Weeknd killed it last year, After Hours was the album of the year we should all boycott the Grammys with him
— Justin Ramos (@JustinRamosss) March 12, 2021
Back in November, both fans and celebs were stunned at the Grammy nominations once realizing that The Weeknd had not received any despite After Hours being one of 2020’s biggest albums and “Blinding Lights” breaking chart and streaming records. The Weeknd spoke out saying that the Grammys “remain corrupt” and that he had even been planning his performance at the show for weeks.
@theweeknd is a real one for doing this. I hope there are more artists willing to boycott @RecordingAcad in the future. https://t.co/GwWuzCAGNJ
— The John Brown Experience (@JohnBrownExp) March 12, 2021
He isn’t the only artist that has criticized the Grammys for refusing to nominate deserving artists, specifically those of color. Earlier this week, Zayn Malik also called out the Grammys for their favoritism saying that “unless you shake hands and send gifts, there’s no nomination considerations.”
I hope more artists follow what the Weeknd doing and boycott the Grammy’s and other award shows. They been a sham for a while now.
— Clairo is listening to MF DOOM (@SelfCareByMac) March 11, 2021
Recording Academy interim chief Harvey Mason Jr. issued a statement to The New York Times in response to The Weeknd’s boycott. “We’re all disappointed when anyone is upset. But I will say that we are constantly evolving,” he said. Mason also promised that there would be efforts to try to review the nomination review committees.
Zayn and The Weeknd making a Grammy diss track like: pic.twitter.com/ZMaUMT1qZD
— Jennah 😘ᶻ³ (@brownskingrlz) March 10, 2021
The Weeknd’s manager Wassim Slaiby took to Instagram to defend the pop star and he expressed his hopes to The New York Times that Mason will uphold his promise. “This is Harvey’s chance to step up and have his legacy be the guy who got the Grammys finally right,” he said.
Many are standing in solidarity with The Weeknd and hope that his boycott will help create change within the Recording Academy. To see the full list of Grammy winners this year, click here.
Writer | Tweet me @itsjadak
