It happens every year. The Grammy nominations arrive and with them the inevitable snubs and scorned reactions. Though many have simply chosen to pay the ceremony no mind, maintaining that it does not provide an accurate representation of assessing the quality of a given year, others have taken a more aggressive stance. In the case of The Weeknd, whose After Hours project was met with resounding silence from the Recording Academy, a full-blown boycott was the decided course of action.
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Following Weeknd's pledge to forsake future Grammy submissions altogether, Recording Academy interim CEO Henry Mason Jr. had a few words on the Canadian superstar's decision. "We're all disappointed when anyone is upset," he explains, in a statement shared by the New York Times. "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."
A general response to be sure, and one that will likely do little in swaying The Weeknd's opinion. After all, he's hardly the first artist to take a hard-line stance against The Grammy Awards; Eminem has been a vocal critic of the ceremony, having accused them of manipulating artists into attending and even performing only to snub them entirely when the trophies come. Even Justin Bieber has decided to follow The Weeknd's path, vowing to skip The Grammys following the snub of his recent Changes album.
For those interested, The Grammy Awards are set to air this coming Sunday, March 14, 2021. Despite the many high-profile snubs, one category that has been consistently praised is that of the Best Rap Album, which brought nominations to Royce Da 5'9", Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist, Jay Electronica, Nas, and D Smoke.