Entertainment

Behind The Scenes’ War Between Singer The Weeknd And Grammys Nomination Committees

Published

4 years ago

Mar 12, 2021.

The Canadian pop singer, whose single, Blinding Lights, was the biggest seller of all time last year
He wasn’t shortlisted for any award.
In the end, he termed the lack of recognition an “attack.”

According to a new statement released ahead of Sunday’s ceremony, The Weeknd will no longer allow his record label to submit his music to the Grammys.

He vowed not to attend the awards until the Recording Academy (which organise the awards) stopped using “secret committees” to decide many nominations.

A Grammy voting process that is notoriously opaque, with review committees being the agency responsible for 72 of the 83 categories.

An anonymous panel, composed of musicians, record label staff and experts, reviews the initial choices of Grammy voters and makes the final decision on who makes the shortlist.

Organisers say they play a vital role in making sure the awards are fair, but many Artists are sceptical about a procedure that enables votes to be overruled.

Zayn Malik, former member of One Direction, condemned this week the “lack of transparency” in the nomination process, saying that it potentially promoted “favouritism, racism, and network politics”.

The Weeknd is not the first artist to pull out. Frank Ocean did not participate in the 2017 Grammys, while Drake declined to submit his 2018 album More Life for consideration.

The infrastructure of the award system, nominating system and screening system is outdated, he said. “I would rather have my Colin Kaepernick moment for the Grammys than sit in the audience.”

Harvey Mason Jr, the acting chief executive of the Recording Academy, responded to The Weeknd’s statement by saying that the organization was “constantly changing”.

As he told the New York Times: “It hurts us all when someone is upset.

The award process continues to evolve, and we will work hard to improve the nominations review committees and the awards process this year, too.”

As gathered by EKO HOT BLOG , there will be performances this Sunday from Dua Lipa, Harry Styles, Taylor Swift, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion at the 63rd Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

With nine nominations, Beyonce leads the pack, while Taylor Swift looks set to take home the coveted album of the year award for Folklore, her first lockdown album.

When Swift wins the prize, she will become the only woman to receive it three times. Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder are the only artists who have done it.

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