AllHipHop

The Weeknd Blasts The Grammys After Getting Shut Out Of Nominations

By: Yohance Kyles (@HUEYmixwitRILEY)Category: News

The Recording Academy interim president speaks on the nominating process.

The nominations for the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards were announced on Tuesday. The Recording Academy is facing significant backlash for one of the most shocking snubs in Grammy history.

After dominating charts and streaming services throughout the entire year with songs from his After Hours album, The Weeknd did not receive a single nom. Many fans and industry pundits did not understand how the “Blinding Lights” performer was completely shut out of the nominations lists.

Despite winning three Grammys during his career, the musician born Abel Tesfaye also seemed to feel a way about how he was treated by the Recording Academy this year. The Weeknd tweeted on Tuesday night, “The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency…” That tweet has collected more than 830,000 likes, 262,000 retweets, and 30,000 replies.

https://twitter.com/theweeknd/status/1331394452447870977?s=20

Variety spoke with Recording Academy interim president/CEO Harvey Mason Jr. He does not have direct control over which acts receive nominations [a series of committees make those decisions], but the veteran songwriter/producer did discuss the overall nominating process.

“I don’t think [the Weeknd’s omission calls the nominations] process into question, honestly,” said Mason. “The process is there so we can continue to monitor excellence. I was in the ‘core room’ this year [which decides the main categories] and I observed, and the people in it are music professionals, at the top of their craft in songwriting and producing and there are a lot of artists.”

He continued, “And they were critically listening to every song that came across their desks — or virtual desks — so I don’t think it shows a flaw in the process. It’s a long, arduous process and people take pride in it. The people in that room care: there are no agendas in there, there’s no ‘let’s snub this person’ or that person. It’s about, ‘Let’s try and find excellence.’”

Other acts that were surprisingly shut out of nominations for the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards include Hip Hop artist Lil Uzi Vert, R&B singer Summer Walker, Pop singer Selena Gomez, K-Pop group Blackpink, and Country singer Luke Combs. Beyoncé goes into the ceremony, scheduled to take place on January 31, 2021, with the most nominations (9), including Record of the Year and Song of the Year for “Black Parade.”