The Weeknd 'Will No Longer Allow' Label to Submit His Music for Grammys as the Recording Academy Responds

Don't expect to see The Weeknd's name in the Grammy Awards' nominations lists anytime soon.

Just days before the Grammys are set to take place, The New York Times revealed that The Weeknd, born Abel Tesfaye, will boycott the awards show moving forward after his album After Hours and hit single "Blinding Lights" were snubbed from nominations.

 "Because of the secret committees," Tesfaye, 31, told New York Times. "I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys."

Responding to The Weeknd's statement, Harvey Mason Jr. — the Recording Academy's interim chief executive — said that "we're all disappointed when anyone is upset," but stated that "we are constantly evolving."

"And this year, as in past years, we are going to take a hard look at how to improve our awards process, including the nomination review committees," Mason explained.

After backlash by the likes of Drake and Frank Ocean, the Academy has made efforts to diversify its membership and even hired a diversity officer and brought more women and people of color into its leadership, according to The Times.

The Weeknd's new statement comes months after the Ethiopian-Canadian singer accused the Recording Academy of corruption when his music was completely left off of the 2021 nominations. After the list of nominees were revealed, Tesfaye broke his silence to criticize the awards show. "The Grammys remain corrupt," he wrote then. "You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency…"

Soon after, artists including Drake and Halsey jumped to the "Starboy" singer's defense, further calling out the awards show.

In late January, for Billboard's cover story, the singer stated that his three Grammys — for Starboy, Beauty Behind the Madness and "Earned It" — mean nothing to him.

"An attack," he said describing the snub.

'"I use a sucker punch as an analogy," Tesfaye said about his "remain corrupt" tweet. "Because it just kind of hit me out of nowhere. I definitely felt … I felt things. I don't know if it was sadness or anger. I think it was just confusion. I just wanted answers. Like, 'What happened?'"

The singer said then that he "personally [doesn't] care anymore" about the situation.

"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," he said.

"I suck at giving speeches anyways," Tesfaye added. "Forget awards shows."

The Grammy Awards are set to air live from Los Angeles on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET/5 pm PT on CBS and Paramount+.

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