World-famous singer The Weeknd restated his promises to boycott The Grammys even though the Recording Academy announced some changes.
After not being nominated in the last edition of the awards despite having a massively successful album, the singer accused the Recording Academy of being “corrupt” and vowed to boycott its upcoming ceremonies.
The Canadian singer declared he would not submit his work for the music industry’s most prestigious annual awards show.
“The trust has been broken for so long between the Grammy organization and artists that it would be unwise to raise a victory flag,” he told Variety, adding: “I think the industry and public alike need to see the transparent system truly at play for the win to be celebrated, but it’s an important start.”
The Grammy’s recently announced a series of changes, including the “secret” nomination review.
It was held to be the culprit that The Weeknd did not receive a nomination despite his success with the single “Blinding Lights” and the single his 2020 album was named for, “After Hours,” as they became massive streaming hits and were critically acclaimed.
However, he stated: “I remain uninterested in being a part of the Grammys, especially with their own admission of corruption for all these decades. I will not be submitting in the future.”
Furthermore, in a statement to The New York Times, he said: “Even though I won’t be submitting my music, the Grammys’ recent admission of corruption will hopefully be a positive move for the future of this plagued award and give the artist community the respect it deserves with a transparent voting process.”
The Weeknd has publicly criticized the lack of transparency in the voting process for the coveted awards.
Nominations are typically chosen by members of the Recording Academy, a nonprofit organization with a membership comprised of industry executives, artists, producers, and other staff members.
However, since 1995, the Best New Artist, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year awards have been chosen by a secret committee of members.
According to Billboard, the original goal of the committee process was to ensure that final nominations were more progressive and “musically adventurous.” However, it has come under fire in recent years for having repeatedly snubbed black artists such as The Weeknd or Kendrick Lamar.
