The Weeknd says his three Grammy wins now mean ‘nothing’ to him

He called the Grammys ‘corrupt’ after hearing that his acclaimed album After Hours had been disapproved in every category at the 2021 ceremony.

And The Weeknd recently stated that his past victories “mean nothing [him]as he spoke candidly about his Grammy complaint in an interview with Billboard.

See, I personally don’t care anymore. I have three Grammys, and of course that doesn’t mean anything to me now ‘, began the 30-year-old singer-songwriter.

Born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, The Weeknd first took the Grammy Awards stage in 2016 when he took the gong for Best Urban Contemporary Album for Beauty Behind The Madness, as well as the award for Best R&B Performance for Earned It.

After the successful release of his third studio album Starboy, he earned the Grammy for Best Urban Contemporary Album for the second time at the 2017 ceremony.

In his conversation with Billboard, The Weeknd wanted to make it clear that his Instagram post calling for the Grammys wasn’t a tantrum, but more of a call for justice.

“It’s not like, ‘Oh, I want the Grammy!”‘ He said. ‘It’s just that this has happened, and I’m in front of the fire, as long as it never happens again.

‘I’m bad at making speeches anyway. Forget award ceremonies. ‘

Looking back on the months before his now infamous snub, The Weeknd insisted that he and his team were ‘doing everything right’ and that the critical and public response to After Hours suggested he was a clear Grammy frontrunner.

‘We did everything right, I think. I am not a cocky person. I’m not arrogant, ‘the Starboy singer insisted.

‘People told me I was going to be nominated. The world has told me. Like, “This is it; this is your year.” We were all very confused. ‘

The Weeknd used Instagram on the day of the Grammy nominations in 2021 to claim that the Grammys are a ‘corrupt’ awards ceremony, while also encouraging them to be transparent with their nominees, awards and audience.

“ You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency … ” wrote the star, sharing the post with his 28.2 million followers on Nov. 24.

The Weeknd’s very public criticism also came amid reports that contentious negotiations with Grammy organizers may have resulted in him being banned from nominations.

The Toronto star was involved in talks about whether he could play in the upcoming Super Bowl, sources told TMZ at the time.

Grammy organizers had demanded that he pass the Super Bowl LV stage before conceding and deciding he could do both.

Insiders said the artists’ camp Can’t Feel My Face suspected the lack of nominations was a response to the unpleasant back and forth about whether he would be performing in the Super Bowl.

The artist released After Hours in March to strong sales and reviews, and it won Favorite Album – Soul / R & B at the American Music Awards last Sunday.

Recording Academy interim chief Harvey Mason, Jr. responded to the singer’s public complaints in a statement to Rolling Stone.

“We understand the Weeknd is disappointed that he was not nominated,” he said. ‘I was surprised and can empathize with what he feels. His music this year has been excellent, and his contributions to the music community and the wider world are to be admired by everyone. ‘

Mason continued, “We would have liked him to be on the Grammy stages the weekend before ‘the Super Bowl’.]Unfortunately, there are fewer nominations each year than the number of deserving performers.

To be clear, voting in all categories ended well before The Weeknd’s appearance in the Super Bowl was announced, so it couldn’t have affected the nomination process in any way. All Grammy nominees are recognized by the voting body for their excellence, and we congratulate them all. ‘

Asked by Variety that The Weeknd will be shut out, Mason said on Tuesday, ‘It really just comes down to the voting body that decides.

‘We have eight nomination slots to fill in [the Big Four categories: Best Album, Song, Record and New Artist], five in others, and voters vote for their favorites. But it is really interesting. ‘

Mason opened up about the process Grammy officials are following to find out which artists are being nominated and in which categories.

‘We look at it every year and make adjustments and revisions to the process; we did it this year, last year, we will do it next year. And I don’t think this calls it into question, frankly, ”Mason said. ‘The process is in place, so that we can continue to safeguard excellence.’

Mason said he oversaw the process and “ the people who were in it are music professionals – they’re excellent, they’re at the top of their craft in songwriting and song production, and there’s a lot of artists.

He continued, ‘They listened critically to every song that came out on their desk – or virtual desk – so I don’t think it’s showing any flaw in the process.

‘I think it actually is … when you get a nomination, you start to really appreciate the process, where you say,’ I really put it through a strenuous and thoughtful process’, to find out who’s really the Deserving nominees for his given year. ‘

The Weeknd took home the Best Urban Contemporary Album for Starboy earlier in 2018.