The Internet Is In A Frenzy Over This Grammys Nomination Snub
Abel Tesfaye (a.k.a The Weeknd) is famous for more than his high-profile exes (even though fans were definitely intrigued by his romances with Bella Hadid and Selena Gomez). He's also one of the hottest figures in the music scene, which he proved by solidifying his place in pop culture history when he landed the 2021 Super Bowl halftime show gig. That's why people were left scratching their heads when the nominations for the 2021 Grammy Awards were announced. Why? Well, because The Weeknd didn't earn a single nomination.
As of this writing, The Weeknd has been nominated for 10 Grammy Awards and taken home three over the course of his career. In 2015, he won in the Best R&B Performance category for "Earned It" from Fifty Shades of Grey, as well as the Best Urban Contemporary Album honor for Beauty Behind the Madness. He won the Best Urban Contemporary Album again in 2017 thanks to Starboy. And with a successful 2020, the "Blinding Lights" singer "was the odds-on favorite to earn the most nominations this year," according to the Los Angeles Times. That's why the snub is "truly baffling."
The Los Angeles Times pointed out that "Renée Zellweger, Maxi Priest, Rachel Maddow, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, the Okee Dokee Brothers, and Mister Rogers" all "got more Grammy nods ... than the Weeknd," which really doesn't seem right at all. And fans were perfectly willing to share their less than impressed and oh-so intriguing opinions about the situation.
The Weeknd's Grammy snub may reveal a dire truth
The fact that The Weeknd was completely left out of the 2021 Grammy nominations left plenty of people voicing their disappointment. "Coldplay receiving an Album of the Year nomination for an album most people forgot about after its release, while The Weeknd got snubbed in all categories pretty much sums up how out-of-touch the music industry is in 2020," award-winning journalist Ernest Owens tweeted in response to the surprising (or perhaps not so surprising when you consider his point) situation. That may be the dire truth if those in the business aren't able to get in touch with what music listeners are actually into.
And if you take a look at Twitter, it's clear that fans are incredibly unimpressed. "The Weeknd [receiving] 0 grammy nominations is actually sickening," one social media user shared. "He had the best album of 2020 and the highest charting song all year. Absolutely disgraceful." Someone else noted that those behind the Grammy nominations might not be interested in The Weeknd experimenting with his sound. "Grammy said if The Weeknd ain't R&B he is nothing," they tweeted, adding, "It's tears in my eyes."
However, another Twitter user noted that there might be a different motivation behind the snub, writing, "He called out their 'Urban Contemporary' category BS and took it upon himself to criticize the industry's widespread silence following the murder of George Floyd."
It certainly seems clear that it's time the Grammys take a good look at what's getting nominated and, more importantly, what's not.