Topline
The Weeknd was once again completely shut out of Grammy Award nominations this year, a surprising snub for the star after he publicly made up with the Grammys in February with a surprise performance at the 2025 ceremony, years after starting a boycott over its allegedly “corrupt” nominating practices.
The Weeknd didn’t receive any nominations at the upcoming Grammy Awards ceremony. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for REFORM Alliance)
Getty Images for REFORM Alliance
Key Facts
The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, was eligible for nomination with his chart-topping album “Hurry Up Tomorrow” and hit singles including “Timeless” and “São Paulo,” but he emerged empty handed from Friday’s nominations announcement.
Various publications, including Billboard, Rolling Stone and Variety considered him a top contender for an Album of the Year nomination, and Rolling Stone reported his label Republic Records ran For Your Consideration ads promoting his work to Grammy voters.
The snubs were more surprising following The Weeknd’s public reunion with the Grammys earlier this year, when he made a surprise appearance and performed at the 2025 ceremony, ending his years-long boycott of the show.
The Weeknd also told the New York Times in May he made up with the Grammys: “I’ve got no beef, it was so long ago, and they did a lot of changes, I mean, we got under the hood,” he said, acknowledging the Recording Academy made changes to its voting process following his boycott.
Why Did The Weeknd Boycott The Grammys?
Fans were shocked in 2020 when The Weeknd, a four-time Grammy winner, was completely shut out of the nominations with his album “After Hours” and his hit single, “Blinding Lights,” which were massive critical and commercial successes. In a since-deleted tweet made after the nominations, he said: “The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency…” In another post, he said he was planning a performance at the Grammys for “weeks” but no longer felt welcome after receiving zero nominations. In response, the Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said he empathized with the singer but said “every year, there are fewer nominations than the number of deserving artists.” The Weeknd told the New York Times in a statement in March 2021 he would no longer submit his music for Grammys consideration, citing the Recording Academy’s use of anonymous committees that have the final say on nominations after the entire academy membership votes. The following month, the Grammys eliminated the secret selection committees for most of its categories, including for the top awards of Album, Record and Song of the Year. In 2025, when The Weeknd returned to the Grammys stage, Mason announced the Recording Academy had made additional changes, including inviting 3,000 new women members, increasing the share of members of color to nearly 40% and making the Grammys electorate younger.