Canadian pop superstar The Weeknd responded to his shocking shutout of the Grammys and slammed the Recording Academy for snubbing him as the 2021 nominations were revealed on Tuesday (November 24). 

Taking to Twitter, the 30-year-old After Hours musician claimed the Grammys lacked transparency and, therefore, cannot be trusted.

“The Grammys remain corrupt,” he wrote. “You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency.”

The absolute rejection of After Hours, The Weeknd’s critically acclaimed fourth studio album, and its commercially successful singles Blinding Lights and Heartless stunned XO fans.

In its defence, however, interim president of the Recording Academy Harvey Mason Jr rubbished hidden agenda claims, arguing that votes for After Hours simply weren’t there.

“For The Weeknd, in every year you only have a certain amount of people you can nominate for each category,” he told Variety following the nomination announcements. 

“… There, there’s no ‘let’s snub this person’ or that person. It’s about. ‘Let’s try and find excellence.’ Also, you have to remember that the committee can’t vote on something that’s not there,” Mason Jr explained.

Another Canadian artiste isn’t happy either, as Justin Beiber voiced his dissatisfaction despite receiving four Grammy nods.

According to Beiber, while he is grateful for the consideration, the categorisation of his Changes album as pop was a disservice to the project, which he feels is a true R&B record and deserved to contend in that category.

“Please don’t mistake this as me being ungrateful, these are just my thoughts take em or leave em. Thank you to the people who fought for me to even have any noms,” Bieber began in his Instagram message.

“I am very meticulous and intentional about my music. With that being said I set out to make an R&B album. Changes was and is an R&B album,” the Intentions singer wrote. 

“It is not being acknowledged as an R&B album which is very strange to me. I grew up admiring R&B music and wished to make a project that would embody that sound. For this not to be put into that category feels weird considering from the chords to the melodies to the vocal style all the way down to the hip hop drums that were chosen it is undeniably, unmistakably an R&B album!” Bieber continued.