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The Weeknd at the premiere of A24's "Uncut Gems" at The Dome at Arclight Hollywood
Abel Tesafaye, otherwise known as The Weeknd, had a record breaking year in 2020. According to Billboard his album After Hours logged the biggest streaming week ever for an R&B album, “with 220.7 million on-demand streams registered.” His hit single “Blinding Lights” was also one of the biggest songs of the year, remaining in the top five on the Billboard Hot 100 for over 38 weeks.
Despite his historic year, The Weeknd was not nominated for a single Grammy award. It is one of the biggest snubs of the year. Regardless of award nominations, The Weeknd remains one of the biggest names in the music industry. The Weeknd is set to perform the halftime show at the Superbowl, one of the largest performances in entertainment.
The Weeknd Lashed out at the Grammys
GettyThe Weeknd performs onstage during the 2017 iHeartRadio Music Festival
Following the news of his snub, The Weeknd took to twitter to express his dissatisfaction with the Grammys.
He also took some time in an interview with Billboard to talk about why he is upset.
“I use a sucker punch as an analogy,” Tesfaye says today. “Because it just kind of hit me out of nowhere. I definitely felt … I felt things. I don’t know if it was sadness or anger. I think it was just confusion. I just wanted answers. Like, ‘What happened?’ We did everything right, I think. I’m not a cocky person. I’m not arrogant. People told me I was going to get nominated. The world told me. Like, ‘This is it; this is your year.’ We were all very confused.”
The Weeknd expressed that he did not understand the Grammys decision making process. He also said that, as a three time Grammy Winner, “I personally don’t care anymore.”
The Weeknd Is Not the First Artist to Speak Out Against the Grammy Awards
GettyNicki Minaj poses in the Winners room after winning Best Hip Hop Award and Best Looking Award during the MTV EMAs 2018
According to Billboard The Weeknd speculated that other factors, outside of music, could be behind his Grammy snub. “If you were like, ‘Do you think the Grammys are racist?’ I think the only real answer is that in the last 61 years of the Grammys, only 10 Black artists have won album of the year,” he says.
He is not the first artist to speak out against racial bias in the Grammy awards. After news of The Weeknd’s snub Nicki Minaj tweeted about her history with racial bias at the Grammys
Never forget the Grammys didn’t give me my best new artist award when I had 7 songs simultaneously charting on billboard & bigger first week than any female rapper in the last decade- went on to inspire a generation. They gave it to the white man Bon Iver. #PinkFriday
There have been far too many instances of Black artists being snubbed at the Grammys in recent years. Some of the most controversial were Beyonce’s losses in 2015 to Beck for Album of the Year and 2017 to Adele for Album of the Year.
The LA Times broke down Beyonce’s history at the Grammys.
She is the most Grammy-nominated woman ever, with 62 nominations and 22 wins, but her win rate of 35% is markedly low. Alison Krauss, the white country singer who has 27 wins for 42 nominations, is almost twice as likely to win when nominated than Beyoncé.
According to the LA Times Adele acknowledged Beyonce’s snub in her own Album of the Year acceptance speech. Adele said “I can’t possibly accept this award,” onstage. “This album for me, the ‘Lemonade’ album, was so monumental.”
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The Weeknd’s Response to Getting Snubbed by the Grammys