Considered a top prospect for album of the year by everyone from Billboard to Rolling Stone, The Weeknd this year was — once again — conspicuously absent from the Grammys nomination list.
His absence is even more pointed given his history with the awards.
The beef started in 2020, when his smash hit Blinding Lights and album After Hours failed to earn a single nod. Citing alleged corruption and “secret committees” that kept his music from being recognized, the Canadian R&B artist (real name Abel Tesfaye) subsequently began a boycott of the Grammys.
Harvey Mason Jr., chief of the Recording Academy, even admitted they may have gotten it wrong in a speech onstage in 2025.
“That made for some interesting reading over breakfast,” he said of The Weeknd’s boycott. “But you know what? Criticism is OK. I heard him. I felt his conviction.”
Tesfaye ended his boycott with a surprise performance at last year’s show, and soon after told the New York Times that he’d observed a meaningful shift in voting procedures.
His newest album — theoretically his final release under The Weeknd moniker — was submitted in multiple categories. But once again, it failed to garner a single nomination, despite debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.