The Weeknd says that his three Grammy wins 'mean nothing' to him now

He famously called the Grammys ‘corrupt’ after learning that his critically-acclaimed album After Hours had been snubbed in every category at the 2021 ceremony.

And The Weeknd recently stated that his past wins ‘mean nothing to [him]’ as he spoke candidly about his Grammys gripe in an interview with Billboard.

‘Look, I personally don’t care anymore. I have three Grammys, which mean nothing to me now, obviously,’ began the 30-year-old singer-songwriter.

The Weeknd, born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, first graced the Grammy Awards stage in 2016 as he accepted the gong for Best Urban Contemporary Album for Beauty Behind The Madness, as well the award for Best R&B Performance for Earned It.

Following the successful release of his third studio album Starboy, he earned the Grammy for Best Urban Contemporary Album for a second time during the 2017 ceremony.

In his discussion with Billboard, The Weeknd wanted to clarify that his Instagram post calling out the Grammys was not a temper tantrum, but more of a cry for justice.  

‘It’s not like, “Oh, I want the Grammy!”‘ he said. ‘It’s just that this happened, and I’m down to get in front of the fire, as long as it never happens again.

‘I suck at giving speeches anyways. Forget awards shows.’

Reflecting on the months before his now infamous snub, The Weeknd insisted that he and his team ‘did everything right’ and that the critical and public reaction to After Hours suggested he would be an obvious Grammy frontrunner.  

‘We did everything right, I think. I’m not a cocky person. I’m not arrogant,’ the Starboy singer insisted.

‘People told me I was going to get nominated. The world told me. Like, “This is it; this is your year.” We were all very confused.’

The Weeknd used Instagram on the day of the 2021 Grammy nominations to claim that the Grammys are a ‘corrupt’ award show, while also encouraging them to be transparent with their nominees, honorees, and audience.

‘You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency…’ wrote the star, who shared the post with his 28.2million followers on November 24.

The Weeknd’s very public criticism also came amid reports that contentious negotiations with Grammy organizers may have led to him being shut out of nominations.      

The Toronto-based star was involved in talks over whether he could play at the upcoming Super Bowl, sources told TMZ at the time.

Grammy organizers had demanded he pass on taking the stage at Super Bowl LV, before relenting and deciding he could do both.

Insiders said that the Can’t Feel My Face artist’s camp suspected the lack of nominations were in response to the unpleasant back and forth over whether he would perform in the Super Bowl.

The artist released the record After Hours in March to strong sales and reviews, and it won Favorite Album – Soul/R&B honors at the American Music Awards this past Sunday.

Recording Academy interim chief Harvey Mason, jr. responded to the singer’s public complaints in a statement to Rolling Stone. 

‘We understand that the Weeknd is disappointed at not being nominated,’ he said. ‘I was surprised and can empathize with what he’s feeling. His music this year was excellent, and his contributions to the music community and broader world are worthy of everyone’s admiration.’

Mason continued: ‘We would have loved to have him also perform on the Grammy stage the weekend before’ the Super Bowl.] Unfortunately, every year, there are fewer nominations than the number of deserving artists. 

‘To be clear, voting in all categories ended well before The Weeknd’s performance at the Super Bowl was announced, so in no way could it have affected the nomination process. All Grammy nominees are recognized by the voting body for their excellence, and we congratulate them all.’

Asked by Variety about The Weeknd getting shut out, Mason said Tuesday, ‘It really just comes down to the voting body that decides.

‘We have eight nomination slots to fill in [the Big Four categories: Best Album, Song, Record and New Artist], five in others, and the voters vote for their favorites. It’s really interesting, though.’

Mason opened up about the process Grammy officials take to suss out which performers are nominated, and in what categories.

‘We look at it every year and make tweaks and revisions to the process; we did it this year, last year, we’ll do it next year. And I don’t think this calls it into question, honestly,’ Mason said. ‘The process is there so we can continue to monitor excellence.’

Mason said he’s overseen the process and ‘the people that were in it are music professionals – they are excellent, at the top of their craft in songwriting and producing, and there are a lot of artists.’

He continued: ‘They were critically listening to every song that came across their desks – or virtual desks – so I don’t think it shows a flaw in the process.

‘I think it’s actually… as you get a nomination, you start to really appreciate the process, where you’re saying, ‘I really made it through a strenuous and thoughtful process,’ to get to who are really the deserving nominees for that given year.’

The Weeknd previously took home the Best Urban Contemporary Album for Starboy in 2018.