Canadian singer, Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, known professionally as The Weeknd, did not hold back from lashing out at the Recording Academy over his Grammy Awards nominations snub.
In a strongly worded tweet, The Weeknd expressed his rage at being excluded from the 2021 Grammy Awards nomination list. He tweeted:
The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency…
— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) November 25, 2020
Sources that are close to the singer are alleging that he may have been omitted from the nominations for reasons other than the quality and success of his music in 2020.
The Weeknd’s 2020 album, After Hours was a huge success. In fact, In the album’s first charting week, The Weeknd became the first artist to lead the Billboard 200, Billboard Hot 100, Billboard Artist 100, Hot 100 Songwriters and Hot 100 Producers charts simultaneously.
His album’s second single, “Flashing Lights” peaked at number one in thirty-four countries, including the United States and Canada.
So why did the Recording Academy snub The Weeknd in its 2021 Grammy Awards nominations?
There are claims that it had to do with the singer’s dual performance gig with Grammy Awards and the Super Bowl LV. The Recording Academy wanted him to perform exclusively at the Grammy’s while he and his team were trying to negotiate a deal that allows him to perform first at music award and then a week later at the sporting event.
See also: See complete list of 2020 E! People’s Choice Awards winners
It is still unconfirmed that this is the reason for The Weeknd Grammy 2021 nomination list snub. But it is the narrative that most fans are running with. In support of the singer, many have taken to social media to air their grievances. See some of the Tweets here:
I agree. Congrats to all the nominees but @theweeknd and Sal you deserved to be there as well and deserved better. Brilliant artist and brilliant album. https://t.co/bVCcIRBMb5
— Scott “Scooter” Braun (@scooterbraun) November 25, 2020
Despite having two of the biggest songs and albums of the eligibility period, @theweeknd & @selenagomez were snubbed by the Grammys: https://t.co/OIkEwNrJ50 pic.twitter.com/tBqXnJSn8d
— idolator (@idolator) November 24, 2020
How did The Weeknd not get nominated for a Grammy strictly for this song alone?!
Unreal. ROBBED. pic.twitter.com/WwtYuIyuFO
— Jordan Daley (@JDaIey) November 24, 2020
However, Recording Academy chief, Harvey Mason, Jr. responded to the speculations around the Grammy snub issue. In a statement he said:
“We understand that The Weeknd is disappointed at not being nominated. I was surprised and can empathize with what he’s feeling. His music this year was excellent, and his contributions to the music community and broader world are worthy of everyone’s admiration.”
Mason also explained that the dual performance bargain was not a problem claiming that they were ‘thrilled’ they heard that he would be performing at the upcoming Super Bowl.
“We would have loved to have him also perform on the Grammy stage the weekend before. […] To be clear, voting in all categories ended well before The Weeknd’s performance at the Super Bowl was announced, so in no way could it have affected the nomination process.” he added.
I feel like he was robbed..