The Weeknd was famously snubbed for a Grammy nomination for the acclaimed “After Hours.” The album did not receive a single nomination. Nor did any of its tracks, including mega hits like “Blinding Lights.” He said the awards were corrupt.

This year, Drake stirred up even more Grammy controversy when he withrdrew his nominations for “Certified Lover Boy”. Now, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. discussed the perceived snubs. He says people are passionate about music, and feedback is always taken into consideration in a recent talk with Billboard.

“It’s not distracting, it’s understandable. People that make music are passionate people inherently. These [projects] are their babies. When they get upset, it doesn’t affect us or offend us. The perception of the academy and our process is important because it allows us to do the work that we want to do.

Having input from the community is important. Sometimes it might be nice not to hear it always in the press; maybe it’d be nice to get a phone call or a text. But regardless of how we get it, it’s important that we evaluate it and find out actionable steps on how to be better.

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At the end of the day, when our members and our community say, ‘We’d like to look at something differently and we think there is a new way of doing this, it’s better,’ we listen, and we move.”

Fans are not holding their breath in anticipation of change. Time will tell if Mason was sincere. He said all the right things. Fans and artists want to see action.

Do you think the Grammy Awards have any meaning? Let us know in the comments!

Tags: The Weeknd
Michael Perry

Michael Perry is a news contributor for Ringside News and Thirsty for News. Michael has an M.A. in Communication Technology from Point Park University in his hometown of Pittsburgh, PA.

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