Halsey Speaks Out on Her and The Weeknd’s Grammy Snubs — ‘I’m Sure This Post Will Blacklist Me Anyway’
On Nov. 24, the Recording Academy announced the nominees for the 2021 Grammy Awards. Despite releasing a vulnerable and acclaimed record, Halsey and her album Manic were snubbed. In an Instagram story, Halsey acknowledged the snub and explained her thoughts on the recent nominations.
Halsey called the Grammy Awards ‘elusive’
On her Instagram story, Halsey posted a typed message for fans about the 2021 Grammy Award nominations. She told fans she took a few days to decide what to say.
“I’ve been thinking and wanted to choose my words carefully because a lot of people have extended sympathy and apology to me since the Grammy nominations,” she wrote.
The singer-songwriter then went on to explain the process of how one even gets nominated in the first place.
“The Grammys are an elusive process. It can often be about behind the scenes private performances, knowing the right people, campaigning through the grapevine, with the right handshakes and ‘bribes’ that can be just ambiguous enough to pass as ‘not-bribes,'” Halsey wrote.
She continued, “And if you get that far, it’s about committing to exclusive TV performances and making sure you help the Academy make their millions in advertising on the night of the show.”
Halsey thinks The Weeknd deserves better
Like Halsey, The Weeknd was also snubbed after receiving no nominations. The Weeknd’s album After Hours debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and had two singles reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, with “Blinding Lights” being regarded as one of the biggest songs of the year.
After he was snubbed, The Weeknd called out the Recording Academy on Twitter.
“The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency…,” he tweeted.
On her Instagram story, Halsey referenced The Weeknd’s snub by the Recording Academy. She also told fans that she does not really care about possibly ruining future chances of being nominated with the post, writing:
“Perhaps sometimes it is (!!) but it’s not always about the music or quality or culture. Just wanted to get that off my chest. @theweeknd deserves better, and Manic did too perhaps it’s unbecoming of me to say so but I can’t care anymore. While I am THRILLED for my talented friends who were recognized this year, I am hoping for more transparency or reform. But I’m sure this post will blacklist me anyway,” she concluded.
What fans think of the singer’s post
After Halsey posted the Instagram story, fans found it refreshing for the singer-songwriter to bring some transparency to the nomination process.
“The Grammys were always a sham. They tried to make a music awards like the Oscars, but music is inherently far more subjective than movies are, so the awards will NEVER mean anything. I’m glad the artists are finally realizing and acknowledging that,” a Reddit user wrote.
One fan wrote on Reddit, “I dont think she will ever be nominated. She’s okay with that I think. She has said before the fan nominated awards are what really matter to her. She didn’t directly mention Grammys but she threw them some shade in her AMA acceptance speech.”
