What’s up y’all, it’s Emile Ennis Jr. with Clevver News, and after being completely
robbed of receiving any Grammy nominations, The Weeknd is airing out his thoughts and
telling the Recording Academy how he really feels…
What was supposed to be a day of celebration after years of hard work finally paying off,
the day quickly turned into sheer upset amongst the music industry after the list of 2021
Grammy nominations were announced.
Artists like Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa and Post Malone were among some of the highest
nominated for the upcoming award show, and although many congratulations are in order,
upset fans have been busy sharing their thoughts after yesterday’s Grammy nomination turnout.
But things have only gotten more intense as artists, themselves, are now speaking out
about how they really feel about the list of nominees… or lack thereof, I should say.
By far one of the biggest snubs from yesterday’s announcement was The Weeknd, whose critically
acclaimed album, After Hours, spent many weeks topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart, is now
the most streamed R&B album, and has since sold over 3 million units.
He got so in character for the part that he literally wore face bandages and a fake bloody
nose to last weekend’s AMAs, but didn’t earn a single nomination in the pop, R&B or
general categories at the Grammys, where he was also expected to win.
Immediately upon realizing he’d been completely snubbed, fans began taking to social media
to provide evidence as to why he should’ve been nominated, to which the #robbed even
began trending.
One user wrote, “Imagine releasing the most streamed R&B album of all time and receiving
ZERO Grammy nominations.
The Weeknd got #ROBBED.”
Another person tweeted, “This is enough evidence that being nominated for the Grammys
doesn't validate how good an artist, song or album is.
At the end of the day we know how talented the weeknd is and how much of a masterpiece
After Hours is.”
And this person pointed out that, “The Weeknd wore the same fit for an entire year just
to get 0 Grammy nominations.”
Even Kid Cudi agreed with the general public’s opinion, tweeted, “Abel was robbed man,
this s**t’s weak.”
But it was Abel, himself, who stunned fans with his own response to being snubbed, taking
to Instagram to share this post that read, “The Grammys remain corrupt.
You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency.”
His post has since generated millions of likes in less than 12 hours, but sources revealed
to TMZ that The Weeknd was given an ultimatum when being asked to perform at the Grammys
which falls just one week before the Super Bowl.
As many fans know, he is scheduled to perform the Super Bowl halftime show on February 7th,
but insiders revealed to the outlet that an agreement to perform at both the star-studded
events might’ve cost him Grammy nods.
They also revealed that The Weeknd’s team was “in talks for weeks” with Grammy execs,
who eventually issued the ultimatum, which basically came down to “us or them.”
Although both sides had allegedly come to an agreement where Abel was slated to perform
back-to-back weekends, sources also said that Grammys execs might’ve feared that duplicate
performances would’ve occurred seeing as CBS would be hosting both the Grammy and the
Super Bowl.
After being completely robbed, something tells us Abel won’t exactly be eager to jet-set
across the country to make his Grammy appearance now…
The Weeknd’s words and frustrations got around to the Interim President of The Recording
Academy, Harvey Mason Jr..
In a statement to Variety Harvey said, “We understand that The Weeknd is disappointed
at not being nominated.
I was surprised and can empathize with what he’s feeling.
His music this year was excellent, and his contributions to the music community and broader
world are worthy of everyone’s admiration.
We were thrilled when we found out he would be performing at the upcoming Super Bowl and
we would have loved to have him also perform on the Grammy stage the weekend before…”
And today The Weeknd once again spoke out against the Grammys posting to Instagram,
“Collaboratively planning a performance for weeks to not being invited?
In my opinion zero nominations = you’re not invited!
While Harvey’s words may not fix the ZERO nominations for The Weeknd… maybe the support
of other musicians who felt slighted by the Grammys WILL help!
Many others have since spoken out about the upsetting nomination turnout.
Sir Elton John posted to his Instagram grid this photo with the caption “In my humble
opinion….
Blinding lights, Song of the year, Record of the Year @Theweeknd #GrammySnub
Justin Bieber took to Instagram to state that although he’s grateful for being nominated,
he’s upset to have only been acknowledged in the pop categories, and not R&B, which
is what his album Changes was sought out to be.
Teyana Taylor corrected the category for Best R&B Album to say Best MALE R&B Album as she
pointed out that not one female was nominated.
And Nicki Minaj reflected on being robbed seven years ago saying, “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”
And then there was Niall Horan, who aired out his own issues with being “robbed”
this year, tweeting, “SNUBBED….. jokinggggg!”
Good one, Niall…
To see what Justin Bieber had to say about his Grammy nods, click right over here to
watch another Clevver video.
Then be sure to let me know all your thoughts on The Weeknd’s response to his major Grammy
snub right down here in the comments.
I’m your host Emile Ennis Jr., bye guys!