Last year, after failing to receive Grammy nominations for 2021, the Weeknd called the Grammys “corrupt” and also promised not to submit its work for future consideration. The singer made a special exception with the Recording Academy’s “secret committees” which historically decided who would take the final votes in many categories.
Last Friday (April 30th) the Recording Academy announced changes to its nomination process for the 2022 Grammy Awards. Grammy nominations are no longer completed by committees of 15 to 30 music industry “peers” representing their “genre communities”. Instead, the final pool of nominees for almost all Grammy awards is determined by a majority of the academy’s voting members.
Despite the changes, the Weeknd has confirmed its boycott of the Grammys. In a recent statement to the New York Times, he said, “Even if I won’t submit my music, the Grammys’ recent admission of corruption will hopefully be a positive step forward for the future of this troubled award and give the artist community some of the respect that it deserves it with a transparent voting process. “
Speaking to Variety, the Weeknd added, “The trust between the Grammy organization and the artists has been broken for so long that it would be unwise to fly a victory flag.” He also said, “I think the industry and the public have to Really seeing the transparent system in play to celebrate victory, but it’s an important start. I’m still not interested in being a part of the Grammys, especially because they have admitted corruption themselves over the decades. I will not submit in the future. “
Pitchfork reached out to Weeknd and Recording Academy representatives for comments and additional information.
