Both have spoken out against the organization
Drake and The Weeknd are continuing to boycott the Grammy Awards by not submitting their solo music for consideration for the 2023 show. Pitchfork reveals the pair’s solo music does not appear on the ballots as first round of voting got underway this week. Drake’s Honestly, Nevermind, The Weeknd’s Dawn FM, and their respective solo singles, “Sticky” and “Sacrifice,” were not found on the ballots.
Drake has long expressed his frustration with the Recording Academy, the company behind the Grammys. He skipped the 2017 show, along with Kanye West and Justin Bieber, because Drake and Bieber don’t find that the awards “relevant or representative” to young or black artists. West sat out due to never winning against a white artist, despite having 21 Grammys.
Last year, The Weeknd, aka Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, shared he’s permanently boycotting the Grammys due to a “secret committee” which he believes is flawed. The Canadian pop star cited the anonymous panel of experts who review the initial nominations that are submitted by thousands of music industry professionals who make up the voting membership of the Recording Academy.
The Weeknd’s name was surprisingly left off the 63rd Annual Grammy nominations list when they were unveiled in late November 2021. Shortly thereafter, the pop star lashed out at the Recording Academy on social media, calling them “corrupt” for the snub.
Earlier this week, Silk Sonic featuring Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak pulled their critically acclaimed album, An Evening with Silk Sonic, for Grammy consideration as well. It’s unclear why, but Mars tells Rolling Stone, “We truly put our all on this record, but Silk Sonic would like to gracefully, humbly and most importantly, sexually, bow out of submitting our album this year. We hope we can celebrate with everyone on a great year of music and partake in the party. Thank you for letting Silk Sonic thrive.”
The duo were nominated for four records at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards this year, and swept their nominations with “Record of the Year,” “Song of the Year” and “Best R&B Song” for “Leave the Door Open” while the song tied with Jazmine Sullivan’s “Pick Up Your Feelings” for “Best R&B Performance.”
Frank Ocean has also spoken out about the lack of diversity among the organization. The Recording Academy claims to be dedicated to “celebrating, honoring, and sustaining music’s past, present and future” while representing equality across gender, race and voice to ensure “music remains diverse and inclusive.”
First round of voting for the 65th Annual Grammy Awards runs through October 23rd. Nominees will be announced on November 15th with the final round of voting from December 14th through January 4th. Music’s Biggest Night is set for Sunday, February 5th at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena. It will be broadcast live on the CBS Television Network and stream live and on demand on Paramount+.
