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Weeknd calls Grammy awards “corrupt” after not being nominated despite successful year

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PHOTO CREDITS: BILLBOARD

The Weeknd criticized the Grammy awards after not being nominated this year despite having released a wildly popular album and topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart with multiple singles, according to the Associated Press.

The three-time Grammy winner criticized the Recording Academy on Tuesday after being selected as the Super Bowl halftime headline performer, and topping the charts with singles “Blinding Lights” and “Heartless.” “The Grammys remain corrupt,” the singer said on Twitter. “You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency.”

The harsh words come less than a year after the Recording Academy’s ousted CEO accused the group that determines nominations in the top categories of having conflicts of interest and not engaging in a transparent selection process. Harvey Mason Jr., the Recording Academy’s interim president and CEO, spoke earlier about whether he was surprised the Weeknd didn’t earn a single nomination. He said it’s hard to predict the voters’ decisions. “You know, there’s so many nominations and there’s only so many slots, it’s really tough to predict what the voters are going to vote for in any given year,” he told The Associated Press. “I try not to be too surprised.”

A source close to the situation alleges that the Weeknd’s shutout followed weeks of discussions about a possible performance at the January ceremony, according to Rolling Stone. “There were many conversations between the Grammys and the Weeknd team about his performance slated for the 2021 Grammys,” the source says. “There was an ultimatum given resulting in a struggle over him also playing the Super Bowl that went on for some time and was eventually agreed upon that he would perform at both events… [The Recording Academy] had all these convos with the Weeknd team in the past month, and today on November 24th, the Weeknd had not one nomination and is now completely ignored by the Grammys.”

ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR: CONNOR KMIECIK

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