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\"People are being awarded -- in the form of both nominations and category wins -- for reasons that are hard to decipher,\" Goulding insisted. \"Would a runner start a race if they knew crossing the finish line first wouldn’t necessarily win them a gold medal?\"

\"So, my question to you, the music industry, is -- and I ask this humbly to open a discussion -- what constitutes the worthiness of an award,\" the \"Burn\" singer asked. \"Who is it that decides this worthiness?\"

Goulding ended her essay by making a call for more transparency in \"our industries process of award nominations and voting\" and for more effort to nominate artists based on their merit and not \"social media presence.\"

\"It is time to have a bigger discussion about where we are going and how we acknowledge and reward those who are, frankly, the reason this industry exists in the first place,\" she concluded.

Previously, The Weeknd, who was not nominated for any Grammys this year despite having a record-breaking song, called the Grammy Awards \"corrupt.\"

Harvey Mason Jr., the head of the Recording Academy, said in response, \"Unfortunately, every year, there are fewer nominations than the number of deserving artists.\"

In 2016, Goulding's \"Love Me Like You Do\" was up for a Grammy for best pop solo performance, but lost to Ed Sheeran's \"Thinking Out Loud.\"

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