The Weeknd is having what ABC News says might be "one of the best years in his career." The Canadian pop star's latest album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200; one of the singles from it spent a record-breaking 40 weeks in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, including in the No. 1 spot (and also spawned a viral TikTok dance challenge). He'll be the next Super Bowl halftime performer; he just won big at the AMAs; he was not just a favorite on many Grammy prediction lists but, per the Los Angeles Times, the favorite to get the most nominations. And yet, he received not one single nod. The 30-year-old's response: "The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency...," he tweeted Tuesday. Rolling Stone reports his was the most notable snub, but others who were shut out included Halsey, Summer Walker, Alicia Keys, Selena Gomez, Camila Cabello, the Jonas Brothers, Blake Shelton, Gabby Barrett, and The Chicks.
A source tells Rolling Stone that, prior to nominations being announced, The Weeknd was in discussions with Grammys organizers for weeks about performing at the ceremony in January, and that there was conflict with regard to his aforementioned Super Bowl performance. "We would have loved to have him also perform on the Grammy stage the weekend before [the Super Bowl]," says a Grammys exec in a statement. "To be clear, voting in all categories ended well before The Weeknd’s performance at the Super Bowl was announced, so in no way could it have affected the nomination process." But, going back to Rolling Stone's source, "This was the year that they were supposed to rise up [after being accused of corruption by the awards show's own former CEO]. What is the process and where is the transparency?" Also possibly "robbed" of nominations (though they did get one nod), per the Times: uber-popular South Korean pop band BTS. (More Grammy Awards stories.)
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