The Weeknd has accused the Grammys of corruption after he was snubbed in the nominations.
Music fans were stunned yesterday when The Weeknd, real name Abel Tesfaye, failed to nab a single nomination at the 2021 Grammy Awards, despite widely being expected to pick up multiple nods.
After calls from fans saying the artist was robbed, the 30-year-old spoke out himself, hitting out at the Grammys.
In an Instagram post, The Weeknd wrote: ‘The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency.’
The Weeknd was expected to pick up nominations for his song Blinding Lights, which despite being released in November 2019, was one of the biggest songs of 2020.
The 80s-inspired synthpop track spent four weeks at number one in the US and eight non-consecutive weeks at the top in the UK, making it the best-selling single of the year in the UK.
It also reached number one in Ireland, Australia, Canada, Germany and France among other countries, inspired a huge TikTok dance trend, and was named record of the year by Variety.
However, the track missed out in both the record of the year and song of the year categories.
The Weeknd’s fourth studio album, featuring Blinding Lights, Heartless and In Your Eyes, reached numbed one in the UK and the US but also failed to get nominated.
According to TMZ, the star had been battling with Grammys execs over his upcoming performance at the Super Bowl halftime show, which will come a week after the awards show next year.
Sources claimed that while The Weeknd eventually negotiated to perform at both shows, discussions got ‘very testy’, with the Grammys team allegedly wanting the singer to choose between them.
They added that The Weeknd and his team feel that the dispute may have had something to do with his lack of nominations.
The Weeknd has previously won three Grammys for best urban contemporary album in 2016 for Beauty Behind The Madness, best R&B song for Earned It the same year, and best urban contemporary album for Starboy in 2018, as well as being nominated for album of the year twice and for record of the year in 2016 for Can’t Feel My Face.
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After it emerged that he hadn’t achieved any nods for the 2021 awards, fans and peers took to social media to defend him, with Kid Cudi tweeting: ‘Abel was robbed man this s****s weak.’
Other notable snubs included Fiona Apple, whose critically acclaimed album Fetch The Bolt Cutters failed to get a nomination for album of the year, although she did bag nominations for best rock performance, best rock song and best alternative music album.
Beyonce lead the nominations with nine, with her song Black Parade up for both record of the tear and song of the year.
Other stars celebrating include Dua Lipa, DaBaby, Taylor Swift and Megan Thee Stallion, while BTS were nominated for best pop duo/group performance for Dynamite.
The Grammys take place on January 31, 2021.
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