Bruno Mars has announced that Silk Sonic — the R&B duo consisting of him and Anderson .Paak — will not submit their album “An Evening With Silk Sonic” for Grammy consideration, he told 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,” Mars said. “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 album’s lead single, “Leave the Door Open,” was released in April of 2021 and won four Grammys for which it was nominated at the 2022 awards, including album and single of the year. The album was released last November and thus of last year and is not only eligible for 2023 awards, but was expected by nearly all prognosticators to be a top contender for album of the year .
But Mars says, “we’d be crazy to ask for anything more. Andy and I, and everyone that worked on this project, won the moment the world responded to ‘Leave The Door Open.’ Everything else was just icing on the cake,” he says. “We thank the Grammys for allowing us to perform on their platform — not once but twice — and awarding us at last year’s ceremony.”
It’s possible that Mars, an overwhelming Grammy favorite, may be responding to criticism the Grammys received in 2018, when his “24K Magic” album and related singles won all six categories it was nominated for including album, song and record of the year, beating out entries from the two biggest hip-hop artists in the world, Jay-Z and Kendrick Lamar. Jay’s 2017 album “4:44” album set a new standard for rap artists in their forties, and Lamar’s “DAMN.” album went on to win a Nobel Prize.
It’s also possible he was cutting off a potential backlash before it could begin: With both Lamar and Beyonce — not to mention Adele — front-runners for 2023 nominations, it could be argued that Mars’ and Silk Sonic’s decision is a very smart career move.
As a duo, Mars and .Paak performed “777” and “Hot Music” from the album this year’s Grammy Awards, and also performed a special private afterparty where they performed mostly covers, including Eve’s “Let Me Blow Ya Mind,” Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” and Nelly’s “Hot In Herre.”
Artists such as Drake and the Weeknd have declined to submit recordings that were likely to receive nominations in the past due to unhappiness with past awards or nominations: Drake obliquely gave a reason during a 2019 Grammy acceptance speech, saying “We play an opinion-based sport, not a fact-based sport,” presumably referencing the Grammys’ voting procedures, and the Weeknd did so to protest the fact that his blockbuster 2020 album, “After Hours,” and the single “Blinding Lights” — one of the most popular songs of the past decade — were shockingly snubbed by the Grammy nominating committees for the 2021 awards. Just weeks after the show, the Grammys announced the elimination of the anonymous, insider committees that had previously determined the final nominees lists in most categories.
A rep for the Grammys did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.
Grammy nominations will be announced on Tuesday, Nov. 15. The 65th annual Grammy Awards take place at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Feb. 5, 2023.
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