Grammy Chief Responds to The Weeknd’s Claims of ‘Corruption’ in Nominating Process

Tiffany Haddish has received a public apology from the interim Recording Academy boss after going public with the "disrespectful" offer she received to host the 2021 Grammy Awards pre-show.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIn what is surely an unprecedented moment for the Grammy Awards Best Children’s Album category, three of the five 2021 nominees  are asking the Recording Academy to rescind their nominations.“We are deeply grateful to the Recording Academy and its voting members for the honor we’ve received, but we can’t in good conscience benefit from a process that has — both this year and historically — so overlooked women, performers of colors, and most especially Black

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorNew Grammy Awards executive producer Ben Winston says he is “looking to do something quite exciting with independent venues” either in or around the 2021 show, according to a comment in an interview with Billboard.Responding to a question about what might be new with the 2021 show, Winston responds, “I’m so struck by the independent music venues around the world, and I’m aware of how hard hit that side of the industry has been.

Tiffany Haddish spoke out about turning down a pre-show hosting gig for the 2021 Grammys over pay discrepancies, she received a public apology from the Recording Academy’s interim chief, Harvey Mason Jr.“It’s just been brought to my attention that the Recording Academy invited Tiffany Haddish to host this year’s Premiere ceremony,” Mason, 52, said in a one-minute Instagram video posted on Thursday, December 10.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAfter actor Tiffany Haddish told Variety that she had been invited to host the Grammy Awards Premiere ceremony but turned down the offer after being told that she would have to pay her own way, Recording Academy interim chief Harvey Mason, jr. posted a public apology on social media, and said that he had apologized to her personally as well.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorTo celebrate the (slightly more than) one-year anniversary of its release, The Weeknd and superstar Spanish singer Rosalía have teamed up for a remix of “Blinding Lights,” Variety’s Hitmakers Record of the Year and one of the biggest hits in recent memory.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” is indisputably one of the landmark songs of 2020 —and the only reason it isn’t even more dominant is because it was released on Nov.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe Weeknd, Doja Cat, Ty Dolla $ign, Brandy, Bebe Rexha, Nav, Bryson Tiller, French Montana — that’s not the top of a 2020 singles or albums chart. Those are just a few of the artists handled by the rapidly growing Salxco, the management-and-more concern founded by Wassim “Sal” Slaiby.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAs they do at this time every year, Spotify has unveiled the top artists, albums, tracks, playlists and podcasts that its 320 million users streamed the most in its survey 2020.MUSIC (GLOBAL)PODCASTS (GLOBAL) Spotify 2020 Wrapped Global Top Lists:Most Streamed Artists GloballyMost Streamed Female ArtistsMost Streamed Albums GloballyMost Streamed Songs GloballyMost Popular Podcasts GloballyMost Popular Podcast Genres GloballySpotify 2020 Wrapped U.S. Top Lists U.S.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe Thanksgiving break has done little to calm the anger over the Grammy Awards’ baffling shutout of The Weeknd and several other artists from the 2021 nominations, and on Saturday Halsey — who was herself shut out from nominations — took to Instagram to air her feelings on the issue, as have Drake, Elton John, Kid Cudi, Charlie Puth and others.In a social media post last week, The Weeknd accused the Recording Academy of being “still corrupt,” which prompted a

Drake is speaking out after The Weeknd was snubbed at the 2021 Grammy Awards.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe Weeknd, who began sounding off on social media on Tuesday night over his being shockingly shut out of Grammy nominations in a year he dominated, kept up his criticism on Wednesday afternoon, posting a statement on Instagram that reads:“Collaboratively planning a performance for weeks to not being invited? In my opinion zero nominations = you’re not invited!”What that refers to, sources tell Variety, is the following:Along with most of the rest of the world, The

the Weeknd has said the Grammys “remain corrupt” after receiving no nominations in the latest awards list for his 2020 album After Hours, nor for 2019 single Blinding Lights, which became the biggest song of the past year.Writing on Twitter, Abel Tesfaye said the Recording Academy “[owed] me, my fans and the industry transparency”.Rolling Stone reports that a source “close to the situation” claimed that Tesfaye was snubbed owing to conflict over whether he could perform at the Grammys ceremony

Harvey Mason, Jr. is speaking out after seeing The Weeknd‘s response to being snubbed by The Grammys.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe Weeknd’s absence from all Grammy nominations in a year that he dominated the music scene and the charts has astonished nearly all observers, and the artist himself has leveled an accusation of corruption against the Recording Academy.“The Grammys remain corrupt,” he wrote on social media. “You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency…”The Grammys remain corrupt.

Harvey Mason, Jr. is addressing the peculiar snub of The Weeknd at the 2021 Grammys.