The Weeknd Boycotts The Grammys After 2021 Snub

It’s been weeks since the Grammys completely snubbed The Weeknd’s chart-topping album After Hours. The move by the Grammys to not nominate the Weeknd for his efforts came as a shock to a lot of fans and big industry figures, who thought that the Weeknd should be the Grammys biggest winner, or receive album or song of the year, along with artist of the year, at the very least.

The first time that the Weeknd “supposedly” clapped back at the Grammys was with his music video Save Your Tears. In the video, he was seen dancing around with a gold trophy that he later threw away, and people quickly called it his way of subtly dissing the Grammys. But it seems that the Weeknd is not done being pissed off by the Grammys rejection, because now, he’s out to boycott them.

The Weeknd – After Hours Massive Success

According to Complex music, “This makes absolutely no sense. The Weeknd dominated 2020 and he deserves an armful of Grammys.” But instead of an armful, he got zero nominations at the 63rd Grammy Awards.

A lot of people were quick to comment that 2020 was The Weeknd’s year, and that no one else came close. His album was the fourth highest selling album of 2020, he smashed multiple records, and his song Blinding Lights was the only song to spend a whole year in the Billboard’s top 10.

The album debuted atop Billboard’s top 200 with 444,000 units, making it the biggest first week album sale of 2020 at the time. In addition to the album’s success, all 14 songs from the album charted in the Billboard hot 100, with 10 of them debuting in the top 40. It stayed atop the Billboard top 200 for four consecutive weeks, and the album later became certified double-platinum by the RIAA.

And yet, After Hours and the Weeknd managed to strike out in every single Grammy nomination.

The Weeknd – On ‘Boycotting’ The Grammys

In January 2021, The Weeknd spoke openly on how he felt about not getting a Grammy, saying that the “snub” felt like an “attack.” He also added, “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. I suck at giving speeches anyways. Forget awards shows.”

But on March 11, he further added another comment regarding the Grammy Snub, which prompted fans to vote for the cancellation of the Grammys at the time, announcing that he will be boycotting the awards from now on. “Because of the secret committees,” the singer/songwriter said, “I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys.”

The Weeknd recently joined a line of black artists, like Drake, Kanye West, Solange and Frank Ocean, who have publicly rebuked the Grammys, and this threatens the legacy of the institution that describes itself as a supportive home for the entire music community.