the weeknd grammys

The Weeknd is saying no thanks to the Grammys and fans are backing him

The Weeknd is apparently still seething over the fact that the Grammys completely snubbed his latest album, and is now taking things a step further, going from calling the music awards show corrupt to fully boycotting it.

As people will remember from back when nomination lists were released in November, the Scarborough crooner's wildly popular record After Hours was not at all recognized by the Recording Academy for the 63rd annual iteration of the show, which is airing on March 14.

"I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys," the artist — who has three Grammys from previous years — revealed to The New York Times on Thursday, citing "the secret committees" as his reason.

There's no argument that After Hours and its singles such as Blinding Lights and Heartless were extremely popular last year, topping charts and serving as one of 2020's best-selling albums.

The Academy has been accused of racial bias toward wildly successful Black artists with massive fan bases, and also of being bitter over the fact that the singer chose the Super Bowl halftime show over a Grammy performance.

The Academy has since told Complex it is "disappointed" when any artist is upset with its selection process, and vows to improve how committees review potential nominees.

In the wake of the outrage over omitting the Weeknd and other artists of col0ur from its latest lists, the Academy's newly-formed Black Music Collective said in a letter that "the Grammy Awards nominations were a bold reminder to the world and our industry of the groundbreaking global impact, influence and contributions of Black music."

"As with every awards cycle, there were a lot of big moments, surprises, but also some disappointments," it continued. "We're listening. Our work is not done and it will take some time, but the mission to be more inclusive continues." 

Abel noted in interviews after the snub that in the last 61 years of the show, only 10 black artists have won album of the year.

Fans generally seem to be backing the Weeknd's choice, wondering if he will inspire other artists to similarly swear off the awards for good.

As one Twitter user aptly noted this morning, "awards are nice but your fans will always be there."

Lead photo by

@theweeknd


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