Drake and The Weeknd apparently still harbor that same resentment against the Recording Academy. Both artists have reportedly snubbed the Grammys again by not submitting their respective albums for awards consideration this year.
Voting for the 2023 Grammy Awards began on Sunday, October 16, but Drake’s “Honestly, Nevermind” and The Weeknd’s “Dawn FM”, both eligible for this year’s competition, are nowhere to be found on the ballot, according to Pitchfork. The Toronto natives, however, still appear across the ballot numerous times for their guest work. Their hit solo singles “Sticky” and “Sacrifice” also didn’t appear on ballots.
This marks the second year in a row Drake and The Weeknd have boycotted the Grammy Awards. Drizzy has long expressed frustration with the Grammys and the Recording Academy. Back in 2017, he won two awards that he said he didn’t want. The 35-year-old also slammed the academy for placing “Hotline Bling” in rap categories despite him insisting that it was a pop song. Last year, he pulled his music from consideration after receiving nominations for “Certified Lover Boy” and “Way 2 Sexy”.
As for The Weeknd, his sentiment began after he didn’t receive any nominations for the massively successful “After Hours” and its single. “Because of the secret committees, I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys,” he said at the time.
The singer, whose real name is Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, also vented his frustration in an interview with Billboard in January 2021. “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.”
Neither Drake nor The Weeknd has shared the reason why he snubbed this year’s Grammys. Prior to this, Bruno Mars officially announced that Silk Sonic bowed out of the competition despite their debut album “An Evening With Silk Sonic” being an early favorite for the nominations.
“Thank you to everyone that supported this project and championed for it. We truly put our all on this record, but Silk Sonic would like to gracefully, humbly and most importantly, sexually, bow out of submitting our album this year,” Mars said in a statement on Thursday, October 13. “We hope we can celebrate with everyone on a great year of music and partake in the party. Thank you for letting Silk Sonic thrive.”
