The Weeknd calls Grammy Awards corrupt after getting left out of nominations
The much-anticipated nominations for the 2021 Grammy Awards were officially announced on Tuesday, and though fans are happy that the latest work of stars such as Taylor Swift, Harry Styles and Megan Thee Stallion was recognized, many are quite unimpressed with the fact that some artists who released some phenomenal albums this year are missing from the list.
Notably, Toronto singer-songwriter Abel Makkonen Tesfaye a.k.a. The Weeknd, whose much-lauded fourth studio album After Hours came out in March.
About to call the Grammies so I can figure out WHAT THE REASON IS that The Weeknd didn’t get nominated in a SINGLE category
— ♛ⓐⓝⓖⓔⓛ♛ (@angelicamubarak) November 24, 2020
Fans are now vowing to boycott the annual awards show and calling it rigged, among other things, taking to social media to express their outrage and wondering how the musician didn't get one nomination despite hit singles like Blinding Lights and Heartless, and popular videos for the songs Snow Child — with its nods to T.O. — and Too Late.
I was expecting more nominations for Lady Gaga but I feel more sad about The Weeknd. 0 nominations!?!? Wtf Blinding Lights and After Hours were huge! Last thing: Beyonce is hecking OVERRATED, She made 0 noise this year. Boycott #GRAMMYs
— Mauro (@mauro_25_) November 24, 2020
Heartless, for starters, was the highest debuting single when it came out in early December 2019 and was the 30-year-old's fourth number one single in the U.S.
Blinding Lights, meanwhile, broke the record for the most weeks at Number One on Billboard's Radio Songs Chart and for the most weeks in its Hot 100 top five —19 and 28 weeks, respectively —also spending seven weeks on its Canadian Hot 100 list and getting stuck in all of our heads forever.
Fuck the grammies, Blinding lights was the biggest song of the year, not to mention The Weeknd has been the most active then ever before pic.twitter.com/DgOSheTKfQ
— Juggy (@felix_vanilla) November 24, 2020
The entire album, which was well-received by the public and critics alike with its innovative, unique sounds that separated the R&Ber from his peers, served as a departure from his previous Grammy-winning work and drew further comparisons between him and the great Michael Jackson.
lol pls why do yall think that the grammys are honest awards. babe the weeknd deserves all the grammies in the world but he didn't even get nominated... make it make sense..
— danae is ready for christmas (@danaelovesmin) November 24, 2020
The fact that Abel was tapped to play the Super Bowl LV Halftime Show is a further homage to his popularity and success this year — and yet another reason why people are scratching their heads after seeing his marked absence from the Recording Academy's noms.
The Grammies is actually cancelled, The Weeknd dropped the best album overall this year but not even 1 nomination ??? What a fucking joke.
— jadenaesthetic! (@jadenaesthetic) November 24, 2020
The Weeknd himself responded to the snub, saying to his tens of millions of followers on Twitter and Instagram on Tuesday evening that "The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency..."
Other surprises from this year's list include the lack of recognition for posthumous albums from Mac Miller and Juice WRLD, for burgeoning R&B singer Summer Walker and country star Gabby Barrett, and popstars Selena Gomez and Halsey, the latter having released not only an album but a poetry book this year.
The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency...
— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) November 25, 2020
The 63rd annual Grammys will be hosted by comedian Trevor Noah on Jan. 31, and will be broadcast live from the Staples Center in L.A. No say yet on how much the pandemic will impact the production, but the Academy has apparently prepared numerous different options for the show depending on where L.A. is as far as the COVID situation by that time.
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