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Image Credit - The Guardian[/caption]Canadian pop star, Abel Tesfaye, popularly known as The Weeknd has pledged for a permanent boycott from the Grammys after alleging various corruption policies that run within its nomination process.
He told the New York Times that owing to the secret committees and juries, he will no longer allow his label to submit any of his musical works to the Grammys from now on.
The committees in mention are selected directly by the Recording Academy that reviews the nominations by its team of the huge voting membership. They retain power over who makes the official shortlists. They can also add artists who have zero nominations into categories other than the four primary ones.
The Weeknd released the biggest song of 2020 with ‘Blinding Lights’. His album, After Hours, also received a double-platinum status. Despite that, he did not get a single nomination this year. Following the unveiling of the nominations back in November, he took to Twitter to say that the Grammys is a corrupt space and demanded industry transparency for himself and his fans.
After the boycott was announced, 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 also added that the review committees were established in 1989. According to him, it was ‘to eliminate the potential for a general-awareness bias that might favor artists who enjoy greater name recognition over emerging artists, independent music and late-year releases.
The Weeknd is among the growing number of artists who are starting to question the integrity of the event after it repeatedly snubbed Black artistry. The last Black artist to win the album of the year was Herbie Hancock in 2008, for a tribute to Joni Mitchell.
After the Grammys snubbed The Weeknd for this year’s awards, Drake demanded a replacement for them with ‘something new that we can build up over time and pass on to the generations to come.
Drake posted on Instagram and named various artists who were also snubbed by the Academy such as Lil Baby, Pop Smoke, Partynextdoor, Popcaan, and ‘too many missing names to even name’. He wrote: “I think we should stop allowing ourselves to be shocked every year by the disconnect between impactful music and these awards and just accept that what once was the highest form of recognition may no longer matter to the artists that exist now and the ones who come after.”
Over the years, many artists have come forward to acknowledge the loopholes in the Grammy nominations and winning process including Frank Ocean, Kanye West, Beck, and Zyan Malik.
The 2021 Grammy Awards will take place in Los Angeles this Sunday. The event will feature performances by Cardi B, Billie Eilish, Brittany Howard, Haim, Harry Styles, and more.
