After the Recording Academy completely ignored The Weeknd when shutting out his monstrous After Hours album with zero nominations, the Grammy’s nomination process drew heavy criticism. With the Recording Academy under fire, they are now changing their process when it comes to nominees.
According to The New York Times, the Recording Academy is eliminating the inclusion of “secret committees” to decide who ultimately makes the final group of nominees in many of the award show’s key categories.
These anonymous committees began in 1989 and impact 61 of the 84 categories. They were meant to “protect the integrity” of the nominees after collecting ballots from thousands of voters, but that hasn’t been the case in recent years as they’ve come under scrutiny by the music industry, fans, and Grammy insiders.
After being snubbed — even though “Blinding Lights” became Billboard‘s biggest Hot 100 hit ever — The Weeknd announced he wouldn’t be submitting his music for the Grammy Awards going forward. With the changes made, he’s applauding the Academy but his boycott remains in effect.
“Even though I won’t be submitting my music, the Grammys’ recent admission of corruption will hopefully be a positive move for the future of this plagued award and give the artist community the respect it deserves with a transparent voting process,” he told The Times.
After Hours made even more history once “Save Your Tears” went No. 1 on the Hot 100 with a remix assist from Ariana Grande. The Weeknd’s 2020 album joined Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814 as the only albums to spawn No. 1 hits in three different calendar years, according to Chart Data.
“This is a new academy, one that is driven to action and that has doubled down on the commitment to meeting the needs of the music community,” Recording Academy Chief Executive Harvey Mason Jr. added with the changes starting for the 2022 award show.