The Weeknd apparently meant it when he vowed to permanently boycott the GRAMMYs after the Recording Academy unceremoniously omitted his blockbuster 2020 album, ‘After Hours,’ from its nominations roster in 2021.
Yes, the uproar that resulted from the omission eventually led to an overhaul of the organization’s voting process, but it appears the update wasn’t enough to satiate the Canadian hitmaker.
What’s more, he’s garnering support from his home country’s favorite Hip-Hop son: Drake.
Details inside.
Ahead of the November 15 announcement of the 2023 GRAMMY nominees, Drizzy and The Weeknd (born Abel Tesfaye) have not submitted their solo music for consideration by the Academy. At the time of this report no official reason has been provided by either of the stars’ camps.
The move is of particular note as it not only doubles down on their longtime grudges with the organization, but also axes their respective 2022 releases – ‘Honestly, Nevermind’ and ‘Dawn FM’ – from being able to compete in the award show’s R&B, Pop, and/or Rap categories.
Both critically acclaimed sets were previously considered front runners for nods at next year’s ceremony.
At writing, there has been no confirmation on if tunes either of the chart-toppers were featured on will still be in the running though. If those songs do compete there’s still a chance Drake and Tesfaye could be adding more golden gramophones to their mantels. As of time reported they are both 4-time GRAMMY winners.