Drake weighs in on this year's Grammy snubs

Just when you thought 2020 couldn’t get any stranger, something that was meant to be celebrated—the Grammy nominations—has become quite the contentious discussion this week. And is it really any wonder why, what with the year’s biggest performer, The Weeknd, being shut out across all categories?One artist who's taking note of the snub is fellow Canadian performer Drake, who seems to be just as disappointed in the Recording Academy as The Weeknd and his fans are. And while the four-time Grammy winner (and 47-time nominee) didn’t exactly call the organization corrupt like The Weeknd did, he did reveal that he’s tired of waiting for the powers-that-be to change their ways.“I think we should stop allowing ourselves to be shocked every year by the disconnect between impactful music and these awards and just accept that what once was the highest form of recognition may no longer matter to the artists that exist now and the ones that come after,” the Champagne Papi wrote on his Instagram stories. “It’s like a relative you keep expecting to fix up but they just can’t change their ways.”Drake then specifically called out the Grammys for failing to recognize The Weeknd and his hot-streak year with After Hours and “Blinding Lights,” the smash single that set a new record for most weeks in the Billboard Hot 100’s Top 10 with 40 weeks (including 4 non-consecutive weeks in the No. 1 spot). It’s a single that he may or may not perform at the Super Bowl during the halftime show in February. “I said @theweeknd was a lock for either album or song of the year along with countless other reasonable assumptions and it just never goes that way,” Drake continued. “This is a great time for somebody to start something new that we can build up over time and pass on to the generations to come.”In a separate story, Drake also included some of the other artists that he felt should have been nominated but weren’t, including Lil Baby, Pop Smoke, Party Next Door and Popcaan. “Too many missing names to even name…” he wrote. Though some fans have noted that another Canadian deserved to be included in this year’s crop of nominees, but wasn’t: Alex Trebek. The late Jeopardy! host’s name was absent from the Best Spoken Word Album nominees. Instead, the Recording Academy nominated Ken Jennings, who had a marginal role in the book’s audio recording.“This should 100 per cent be Alex’s Grammy nomination,” Jennings tweeted upon hearing the news. “He wrote the book and reads much of the audiobook! Who do I speak to about this.”

This should 100% be Alex's Grammy nomination. He wrote the book and reads much of the audiobook! Who do I speak to about this

— Ken Jennings (@KenJennings) November 24, 2020

Drake and Jennings aren’t the only ones who aren’t happy with the status quo. Nicki Minaj also slammed the Grammys this week following the nominations, reminding everyone of the time she had seven simultaneous songs charting on Billboard, yet they gave the best new artist award to “the white man Bon Iver.” Slowly but surely, other celebrities are weighing in too.

Y’all was better off just saying best MALE R&B ALBUM cause all I see is dick in this category. https://t.co/LlL769FbTR

— TEYANA M.J. SHUMPERT (@TEYANATAYLOR) November 24, 2020

 

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Meanwhile, The Weeknd, who took to Twitter earlier this week to accuse the Grammys of being corrupt and demand that they give fans transparency in terms of the nomination process, went back online on November 25 to update fans about his pre-planned Grammys performance. As in, it seems as though he won’t be stopping by after all. “Collaboratively planning a performance for weeks to not being invited? In my opinion zero nominations = you’re not invited!” he wrote in response to the Academy’s response to his claims of corruption. (This is getting confusing, y’all.)Your move, Recording Academy. Your move.[video_embed id='2085407']Before you go: Even Elton John can't believe The Weeknd was snubbed for a Grammy[/video_embed]