For a long time, the Grammys have been considered the biggest music awards in the world. However, this week some of music’s biggest stars – namely The Weeknd, Justin Bieber, Drake and more, have joined forces to viciously campaign against the institution.
The Weeknd was understandably pissed when – despite topping multiple charts with ‘Blinding Lights’ and having one of the highest selling and critically acclaimed albums of the year After Hours. – he received zero Grammy nominations. He took to social media to express his displeasure and that’s right about the time the whole shit storm started snowballing.
The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency…
— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) November 25, 2020
After stating to the New York Times that he will not submit his music to the Grammys for consideration again, some of music’s biggest names jumped to his defence.
Drake was one of the first to throw in his two cents by posting an instagram story comparing the Grammys to “a relative you keep expecting to fix up but they just can’t change their ways.”
Drake says the #GRAMMYs are losing their relevance in new Instagram story:
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“This is a great time for somebody to start something new that we can build up over time and pass on to the generations to come.” pic.twitter.com/MKhS3IjwIj
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) November 26, 2020
Wiz Khalifa also showed up to suggest that the institution is corrupt. “Its politics. If you don’t show up to their parties they don’t throw your name around,” he tweeted.
Yea that’s a surprise but its politics. If you don’t show up to their parties they don’t throw your name around https://t.co/Y7jfv18GH8
— Wiz Khalifa (@wizkhalifa) November 24, 2020
Next up, Biebs jumped in the metaphorical ring, and while his Grammy snub wasn’t specifically related to The Weeknd, he did share in November 2020 that he won’t be attending the awards.
“I am flattered to be acknowledged and appreciated for my artistry. I am very meticulous and intentional about my music. With that being said, I set out to make an R&B album,” he wrote on Instagram following the nominations announcement. “‘Changes’ was and is an R&B album. It is not being acknowledged as an R&B album, which is very strange to me.”
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Another pop prince, Zayn Malik, was a little less polite with his Grammy related tweet.
“F*** the Grammys and everyone associated,” he tweeted. “Unless you shake hands and send gifts, there’s no nomination considerations. Next year I’ll send you a basket of confectionary.”
He later added: “My tweet was not personal or about eligibility but was about the need for inclusion and the lack of transparency of the nomination process and the space that creates and allows favouritism, racism, and netwokring [sic] politics to influence the voting process,” he wrote.
Fuck the grammys and everyone associated. Unless you shake hands and send gifts, there’s no nomination considerations. Next year I’ll send you a basket of confectionary.
— zayn (@zaynmalik) March 9, 2021
Tired yet? Too bad because the list still goes on.
Halsey also publicly accused the awards of being discriminatory, albeit before The Weeknd announced his boycott. She said that “the Grammys are an elusive process” that can “often be about behind-the-scenes private performances, knowing the right people, campaigning through the grapevine, with the right handshakes and ‘bribes’ that can be just ambiguous enough to pass as ‘not-bribes.'”
So basically, it’s looking pretty damn grim for The Grammys this year.