The Weeknd is officially boycotting the Grammys

The Weeknd is done playing the Grammy&#039;s game.

(Image credit: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

published 12 March 2021

The Weeknd might have been turned down by the Grammys this year, but let the record show he broke up with them first!

On Thursday, the Canadian pop star behind the history-making hit "Blinding Lights" said that he will "no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys," accusing the institution's "secret committees" of shutting him out of a nomination this year.

Though the Grammys are voted on by music professionals, an anonymous ("secret") committee is able to alter the final nominations as they see fit. The committee exists, supposedly, to help adjust for awareness bias (when artists with greater name recognition are favored over lesser-known emerging artists), although "the lack of transparency makes artists suspicious about the process," Vulture reports.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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