By: Alexandra Rimbu

The Weeknd has boycotted the Grammys after his snub. In a statement to the ‘New York Times’ this past Thursday, he publicly announced that he will no longer allow his label to submit his music to the awards show.

In response to the Weeknd’s statement, Harvey Mason Jr., the interim president of the Recording Academy, which oversees the Grammys, 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”.

It does not seem as though this will appease the singer, as his latest statement follows a series of comments he’s made against the awards show after he failed to receive a single Grammy nomination. The Weeknd himself, fans, and even the general public, highly anticipated recognition for the singer’s work after the release of his critically acclaimed album ‘After Hours’ this past year. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

Following the Weeknd’s boycott, other artists have spoken on the issue, calling out the Recording Academy, the organization behind the Grammys, for what they say is a lack of transparency with voting and diversity among nominees.

The Recording Academy chooses the nominations for the ceremony. But since 1995, the final nominations in the “Big Four” categories — album of the year, song of the year, record of the year and best new artist — have been decided by a select committee, according to ‘Billboard.com‘. The outlet wrote in a 2020 article that the committee was created so the final nominations in those categories were “more progressive” and “more musically adventurous”.

But many artists do not think the Grammys’s system is as fair as it claims to be, insisting that favoritism, racism, and networking politics highly influence the voting process.

It seems we will have to wait and see if these artists’ opinions will inspire any change.