Image Source: Refinery29, Bustle, GRAMMY.com
Drake recently pulled his name out of the Grammy nominations and fans can not help but be stunned at the decision. Grammy awards have always been held at a considerable degree of respect and awe, but there are many stars who just can not join in the celebration when Grammys roll around.
Many stars like The Weeknd, Zayn, Nicki Minaj, and Justin Bieber have called out the Recording Academy's nomination process along with nods that just do not fit the right box. The 2021 Grammy Awards brought forward a load of angry singers pointing at the Grammys for its faulty nominations of last year.
The accusations are that the Grammys are not very inclusive of all artists, and the allegations do make sense when The Weeknd voiced his concerns. The singer's single "Blinding Lights" had created history by managing to stay over the top 10 ranks in the Hot 100's list, and yet his album After Hours did not receive a single nomination from the Academy. The star said that he was purposefully overlooked during the nomination process.
Talking with New York Times, the singer said that he has decided to boycott Grammys and never submit a recording. He added, “Because of the secret committees, I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys.” Drake also has a long-standing feud with the award show prior to him, pulling out of his nomination this year. Frank Ocean and Kanye West have also voiced their concerns when it comes to the awards show.
Here are a few stars who spoke against the unjust nominating process.
The Weeknd
"The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans, and the industry transparency...," said The Weeknd in a November 25, 2020, Twitter post.
Zayn Malik
Zayn Malik wrote through his Twitter account, "F--- the Grammys and everyone associated. Unless you shake hands and send gifts, there’s no nomination considerations. Next year I’ll send you a basket of confectionery."
His angry Twitter thread included, "My tweet was not personal or about eligibility but was about the need for inclusion and the lack of transparency of the nomination process and the space that creates and allows favoritism, racism, and networking politics to influence the voting process."
He also added, ".@recordingacad are moving in inches and we need to move in miles. I’m keeping the pressure on & fighting for transparency & inclusion. We need to make sure we are honoring and celebrating “creative excellence” of ALL. End the secret committees. Until then ... #f---thegrammys"
Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj voiced a similar thought on her Twitter account, writing: "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"
Justin Bieber
“I am flattered to be acknowledged and appreciated for my artistry. I am very meticulous and intentional about my music. With that being said, I set out to make an R&B album,” Justin Bieber wrote on Instagram saying that the nomination is not what he wanted it to be. “‘Changes’ was and is an R&B album. It is not being acknowledged as an R&B album, which is very strange to me," wrote the star on his Instagram post.
He paired it with the caption: "Please don’t mistake this as me being ungrateful, these are just my thoughts take em or leave em. Thank you to the people who fought for me to even have any noms."
Drake
In the nominations round for the 2022 Grammys, Drake chose to pull out his nominations. He explained through a story post on his Instagram account, “I think we should stop allowing ourselves to be shocked every year by the disconnect between impactful music and these awards and just accept that what once was the highest form of recognition may no longer matter to the artist that exists now and the ones that come after.”
He further added, “It’s like a relative you keep expecting to fix up but they just won’t change their ways. The other day I said @theweeknd was a lock for either album or song of the year along with countless other reasonable assumptions and it just never goes that way. This is a great time for somebody to start something new that we can build up over time and pass on to the generations to come.”
