This will be the second year in a row that Drake and The Weeknd have opted out of attending the 2023 Grammy Awards.
Previously, both artists have expressed their dissatisfaction with the Recording Academy.Â
The Weeknd decided to boycott the Grammys in 2021 following the snub of his chart-topping album “After Hours” featuring the track “Blinding Lights.”
The “Save Your Tears” singer reportedly took aim at the Recording Academy’s secret voting method in a March 2021 statement, saying, “Because of the secret committees, I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys.”
Earlier that year, in January 2021, the Weeknd vented to Billboard.
“Look, I personally don’t care anymore. I have three Grammys, which mean nothing to me now, obviously,” he told the music mag. “I suck at giving speeches anyways. Forget awards shows.”
“I use a sucker punch as an analogy. 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 Weeknd said of the snub.
In 2017, Drake’s discontent with the Grammys began after he noticed that he only received nominations for his hit song “Hotline Bling” for Best Rap/Sung Performance and Best Rap Song.
Although Drake won both categories, he expressed ambivalence about the Grammys categorizing his single.
“Even though ‘Hotline Bling’ is not a rap song … the only category they can manage to fit me in is a rap category,” Drake explained. “Maybe because I’ve rapped in the past or because I’m black, I can’t figure out why.”
“I love the rap world, and I love the rap community, but you’re right. I write pop songs for a reason,” he continued. “I wanna be like Michael Jackson. I wanna be like artists that I’ve looked up to. Those are pop songs, but I never get any credit for that…I won two awards last night, but I don’t even want them because it feels weird for some reason.”
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