Canadian star, Abel Makkonen Tesfaye aka The Weeknd, has declared that he is boycotting the forthcoming Grammy Awards after the award organisers shut him out of the 2021 nominations.
The singer who made the declaration during an interview with The New York Times said that he would permanently boycott the Grammys from now on, alleging corruption within its nomination process.
“Because of the secret committees,” he told the New York Times, “I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys.”
While commenting on the Weeknd’s newly announced boycott, Grammys interim president Harvey Mason Jr told the New York Times: “We’re all disappointed when anyone is upset. But I will say that we are constantly evolving. And this year, as in past years, we are going to take a hard look at how to improve our awards process, including the nomination review committees.”
Mason said that the nomination review committees were established in 1989 “to eliminate the potential for a general-awareness bias that might favour artists who enjoy greater name recognition over emerging artists, independent music and late-year releases”.
Recall that Kanye West, Frank Ocean and Drake have previously spoken out about the Grammys and racial bias in the past, but this year’s biggest controversy involves the Weeknd, whose mega-hit track “Blinding Lights” has broken chart records, but was snubbed by the award organisers.
