The Weeknd announces he's boycotting future Grammys amid 'After Hours' snub
Going into this Sunday night's Grammy Awards, it's hard not to think about The Weeknd.
Despite releasing "After Hours," one of the most acclaimed and successful albums of the year, The Weeknd received zero Grammy nominations. The album's single "Blinding Lights" was so popular it spent an entire year in the top 10.
As a result, the Canadian star -- born Abel Tesfaye -- said in a statement obtained by ABC News, "I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys.” The reason, Tesfaye added, is "because of the secret committees."
He's referring to the anonymous Grammy committees that review the thousands of votes from all the Recording Academy members and then make the final determination regarding who gets nominated in most of the categories. Committee members can also add names that were not selected by voters (except for the top four categories).
Nobody seems to know why The Weeknd got snubbed, but former Grammys head Deborah Dugan, who was removed after five months on the job, has maintained she was fired because she accused the committees, and the Academy, of conflicts of interest and voting improprieties. Her case is now in arbitration.
Asked about the snub earlier this week by Variety, interim Grammy chief Harvey Mason Jr. said, "It’s unfortunate" and "not something any of us are happy about."
Mason had previously told ABC News in a statement after the nominations were announced that he was "surprised" The Weeknd wasn't nominated and could "empathize with what he's feeling."
The Weeknd slammed the Recording Academy after nominations were revealed by posting the following message on social media: "The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency."
He later told Billboard the three Grammys he had previously won "mean nothing" to him anymore.
"Look, I personally don't care anymore. I have three Grammys, which mean nothing to me now, obviously. It's not like, 'Oh, I want the Grammy!' It's just that this happened, and I'm down to get in front of the fire, as long as it never happens again," The Weeknd said ahead of his Super Bowl halftime performance. "I suck at giving speeches anyways. Forget awards shows."
