“The biggest night in music” may come with some setbacks this year. In addition to having to reschedule the 63rd Grammy Awards ceremony due to the global pandemic, there was some controversy over this year’s nominees – specifically, who it is not among that esteemed list of musicians and artists.
After the announcement of the 2021 Grammy nomination, The Weeknd went on social media to blow up the Recording Academy, calling the elite organization “corrupt” after receiving zero nominations.
On Thursday, The Weeknd took it a step further – announcing that it would no longer participate in the Grammy process. Yes, a complete boycott.
“Because of the secret committees,” said Weeknd in a statement to The New York Times. “I will no longer allow my label to send my songs to the Grammy.”
G / O Media can receive a commission
“We are all disappointed when someone gets upset,” said Recording Academy interim chief executive Harvey Mason Jr. in response to The Weeknd’s latest statement. “But I will say that we are constantly evolving. And this year, as in previous years, we’re going to take a look at how to improve our award process, including nomination review committees. “
On the other hand, an artist who was nominated – the most nominated of this year’s round with nine nods, in fact – Beyoncé could make history in three different ways if she obtained most of her categories.
Most, from Newsweek:
If things really go her way, Beyoncé could become the woman with the most Grammys, the live music with the most Grammys and the artist with the most Grammy awards of all time, period. Now, I admit, it would be difficult for her to reach all of those milestones in one night, and even if she didn’t make it this year, it is very likely that she could clear all those barriers at some point in her career. (At the moment, the “Formation” singer has 24 Grammys to her name.
Bey would guarantee the “woman with the most Grammys” if she won 4 victories on Sunday night, the designation “live musician with the most Grammys” if she gets five statuettes and will be named the person with “the most Grammys of all time” if she wins eight awards.
As the NYT noted, Drake, Kanye West (who actually urinate inside a Grammy figurine on the camera) and Frank Ocean joined The Weeknd to publicly criticize the Recording Academy for continuing to ignore black artists. Hell, Bey even reflected on being despised at the Grammy for her album Lemonade– a blackout that caused a great uproar among the fans–and she is fine now.
Snobbishness – in both awards and member level – from the Golden Globe of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association generated an ongoing discussion about turning off the award culture in general. The fact that the Grammy Recording Academy is part of that conversation further complements the fact that this problem is not isolated – it is systemic.
Grammy Week is currently happening with its series of events leading up to the big night, including the annual event Roots Jam Session (the band … not us, the sarcastic site) that will air on Saturday, March 13 at 6 pm PT / 9 pm ET.
The 63rd annual Grammy Awards will air live on Sunday, March 14 at 8 pm ET / 5 pm PT on CBS.