The Weeknd says his three Grammy victories “mean nothing” to him now

He called the famous “corrupt” Grammy after learning that his after-hours album, After Hours, was hidden in every category at the 2021 ceremony.

And The Weeknd recently said that his past wins “means nothing [him]while speaking honestly about Grammy’s care in an interview with Billboard.

“Look, I personally don’t care anymore.” I have three Grammys, which means nothing to me now, obviously, the 30-year-old singer started.

The Weeknd, born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, first won the Grammy Awards stage in 2016, when he accepted the gong for best contemporary urban album for Beauty Behind Madness, as well as the award for best R&B performance for Earned It.

After the successful release of Starboy’s third studio album, it won a Grammy for the second time for best contemporary urban album at the 2017 ceremony.

In its discussion with Billboard, The Weeknd wanted to clarify that his Instagram post calling for the Grammy was not an anger, but rather a cry for justice.

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

“No matter how hard I give speeches. Forget about the awards shows. ‘

Reflecting on the months leading up to his current outburst, The Weeknd insisted that he and his team “did everything right” and that the critical and public reaction to After Hours suggested he would be an obvious Grammy frontrunner.

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

“People told me I would be nominated. People told me. For example, “This is, this is your year.” We were all very confused.

Weeknd used Instagram on the day of the 2021 Grammy Award nominations to claim that the Grammy Awards are a show of “corrupt” awards, while encouraging them to be transparent with nominees, awardees and the public.

“You owe it to me, my fans and the transparency of the industry …” wrote the star, who shared the post with his 28.2 million followers on November 24.

Weeknd’s public criticism has also surfaced of reports that controversial negotiations with Grammy organizers could have led to his exclusion from the nominations.

The Toronto star was involved in talks about the possibility of playing in the next Super Bowl, sources told TMZ at the time.

Grammy organizers asked him to take the stage at the Super Bowl LV, before he became discouraged and decided he could do both.

Insiders said the Can’t Feel My Face artist’s camp suspected that the lack of nominations was responsible for the unpleasant back and forth on the fact that he would play in the Super Bowl.

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

Acting Head of Recording Academy Harvey Mason, jr. responded to the singer’s public complaints in a statement to Rolling Stone.

“We understand that Weeknd is disappointed that he is not nominated,” he said. “I was surprised and I can sympathize with how he feels. His music this year has been excellent, and his contributions to the music community and the world are worthy of everyone’s admiration. ‘

Mason continued: “We would have liked to present him on the Grammy stage the weekend before the Super Bowl.]Unfortunately, every year there are fewer nominations than the number of artists he deserves.

“To be clear, the vote in all categories ended long before The Weeknd’s performance in the Super Bowl was announced, so in no case could it have affected the nomination process. All Grammy nominees are recognized by the voting body for their excellence and we congratulate them all. ‘

Asked by Variety about closing The Weeknd, Mason said on Tuesday: “It really comes down to the voting body that decides.

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

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

“We look at it every year and make changes and revisions to the process; we did it this year, last year, we will do it next year. And I don’t think that’s questioning him, honestly, “Mason said.” The process is there so we can continue to monitor excellence. “

Mason said he oversaw the process and “the people who were in it are music professionals – they are excellent, at the forefront of their craft in composition and production and there are a lot of artists.”

He continued: “They critically listened to every song that came over their desks – or virtual desks – so I don’t think it shows a flaw in this process.

“I think it’s actually … as you receive a nomination, you start to really appreciate the process, where you say, ‘I really managed through an intense and careful process,’ to get to who the nominations really deserve. that’s what they gave. ‘

Weeknd previously took the best contemporary urban album for Starboy in 2018.