Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagicWhen Grammy nominations were announced in November, fans were shocked that The Weeknd, whose After Hours was one of the biggest albums of 2020, was completely shut out. At the time, he tweeted that the Grammys were "corrupt" and that they owned him "transparency." But now, he says he's over it.
Speaking to Billboard, the artist born Abel Tesfaye says, "Look, I personally don’t care anymore. I have three Grammys, which mean nothing to me now, obviously. It’s not like, ‘Oh, I want the Grammy!’ It’s just that this happened, and I’m down to get in front of the fire, as long as it never happens again."
“I suck at giving speeches anyways,” he adds. “Forget awards shows.”
However, The Weeknd does tells Billboard how the snub affected him.
"I use a sucker punch as an analogy, because it just kind of hit me out of nowhere," explains. "I definitely…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?’ We did everything right…I’m not arrogant. People told me I was going to get nominated…We were all very confused.”
The singer also believes something other than music might have been a factor.
"I think the only real answer is that in the last 61 years of the Grammys, only 10 Black artists have won album of the year,” he says. “I don’t want to make this about me. That’s just a fact.”
Meanwhile, The Weeknd is prepping for his Super Bowl halftime performance, which will be 24 minutes long, rather than the usual 12. He's also put up $7 million of his own money, his team says, "to make this halftime show be what he envisioned.” We'll see his vision on February 7.
By Andrea Dresdale
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