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Why is The Weeknd boycotting Grammys despite rule change? Fans say 'wish more artists would boycott'

The official website of the Grammys recently announced new changes which also included that secret committees will no longer be allowed to participate in the voting process

R&B star The Weeknd taking a dig at Grammys in November 2020 gave birth to a new wave on social media. The Recording Academy failed to give him a single nomination even though the singer’s album ‘After Hours’ proved to be one of the biggest records last year and this ultimately ticked him off.

With people slamming the renowned institution, the Grammys eventually gave in under the pressure and decided to drop the idea of secret committees’ involvement in the voting process. However, it looks like the 31-year-old crooner is still not elated with their decision. In his recent statement to Variety, he revealed that he still won’t be submitting his music to the Grammys as the trust had been broken. In an interview with The New York Times, ‘The Hills’ hitmaker had earlier said, “Because of the secret committees, I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys.” The singer’s protest came after several musicians over the years complained about not getting nods in Grammys’ “Big Four” categories — Best Album, Song, Record of the Year and Best New Artist.
 
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Why is The Weeknd boycotting Grammys despite rule changes?

The official website of the Grammys recently announced new changes which also included that secret committees will no longer be active. The official website of the Grammys states: “Nominations in all of the GRAMMY Award general and genre fields will now be determined by a majority, peer-to-peer vote of voting members of the Recording Academy.” It also revealed, “Many of the categories within these fields utilized 15-30 highly skilled music peers who represented and voted within their genre communities for the final selection of nominees. With this change, the results of GRAMMY nominations and winners are placed back in the hands of the entire voting membership body, giving further validation to the peer-recognized process.” It further stated, “To further support this amendment, the Academy has confirmed that more than 90 percent of its members will have gone through the requalification process by the end of this year, ensuring that the voting body is actively engaged in music creation.”

Despite their announcement, The Weeknd decided to stick to his decision of not submitting his music to the Grammys he dubs “corrupt”. In an interview with Variety, the multiple award-winning singer spilled the reason behind it and said, “The trust has been broken for so long between the Grammy organization and artists that it would be unwise to raise a victory flag.” He further stated, “I think the industry and public alike need to see the transparent system truly at play for the win to be celebrated, but it’s an important start. I remain uninterested in being a part of the Grammys, especially with their own admission of corruption for all these decades. I will not be submitting in the future.”  

He also spoke to The New York Times on the same matter and revealed, “Even though I won’t be submitting my music, the Grammys’ recent admission of corruption will hopefully be a positive move for the future of this plagued award and give the artist community the respect it deserves with a transparent voting process.”

‘I wish more artists would boycott’

As soon as the news of The Weeknd not submitting his music to the Grammys despite rule changes made it to the internet, his loyal fans rushed to Twitter to express their valuable opinion on the same. One user while replying to another said, “Bro wtf is wrong with u? AH deserved all the noms and win it can get and ain’t nothing worn with that, Grammys been this way from the start and it’s pretty obvious from the list of snubs.” Another said, “WYD! Some ppl think @theweeknd is aware TAYLOR SWIFT will always WIN @RecordingAcad or @BBMAs more than him so he STILL angry as a spoilt BRAT given FAME in 2017 & Academy decision to CHANGE is NOT about him! IMO they confirmed LOUDLY!”

When one user suggested, “I think we should wait till the year ends”, another replied, “Exactly but also at the moment he is probably also the artist of 2021 cuz of super bowl and how he made the grammys change their voting ways. Nobody ever made that.” Another added, “The Weeknd going out sad about the Grammys smh.” One fan concluded, “He look mad different.” One said, "Respectful. I wish more artists would boycott."