The Weeknd has stated that he will boycott the Grammy Awards going forward, refusing to attend or put his work forward for consideration from here on out.
“Because of the secret committees,” The Weeknd, 31, said in a statement to the New York Times on Thursday, “I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys.”
This is coming after his critically acclaimed album “After Hours” was shut out from this years nomination when the 2021 Grammy nominations were announced in November. It was widely considered the largest snub of the year.
After the nominations were revealed, the Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye), dubbed the awards “corrupt”: “The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency….,” he said in a tweet.
“After Hours” was one of the biggest albums of the year in 2020, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart upon its release in March.
In November, Harvey Mason jr., the chair and interim president/CEO of the Recording Academy, said, “Y’know, it really just comes down to the voting body that decides.”
In response to the Weeknd’s latest statement, Mason told The Times, “We’re all disappointed when anyone is upset…. But I will say that we are constantly evolving. 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 now joins the ranks of artists like Drake and Frank Ocean, who have previously criticized and boycotted the awards show. Ocean notably declined to submit Blonde and Endless in the year they were eligible.
This is coming two days after British singer Zayn Malik accused the Grammy Awards of being rigged in a scathing tweet even though his latest album, “Nobody Is Listening”, was not eligible for consideration this award cycle because it was released in January, five months after the eligibility period ended on Aug. 31 and two months after Grammy nominations were announced in November.
“F–k the grammys and everyone associated,” Malik wrote on Tuesday. “Unless you shake hands and send gifts, there’s no nomination considerations. Next year I’ll send you a basket of confectionary.”
In 2015, The Weeknd took home Grammys for Best R&B Performance for “Earned It” and Best Urban Contemporary Album for “Beauty Behind The Madness.” In 2017, he picked up another trophy for Best Urban Contemporary Album for “Starboy.”