British singer-songwriter Zayn Malik accused the Grammy Awards of being rigged in a scathing tweet on Tuesday.
“F–k the grammys and everyone associated,” Malik wrote. “Unless you shake hands and send gifts, there’s no nomination considerations. Next year I’ll send you a basket of confectionary.”
The seemingly random call out is coming five days before this year’s music ceremony is due to take place. His latest album, Nobody Is Listening, was not eligible for consideration this award cycle because it was released in January, five months after the eligibility period ended on Aug. 31 and two months after Grammy nominations were announced in November.
Malik in a subsequent tweet clarified that his comments were “not personal or about eligibility”.
“My tweet was not personal or about eligibility but was about the need for inclusion and the lack of transparency of the nomination process and the space that creates and allows favoritism, racism, and netwokring politics to influence the voting process”
Malik’s criticism of the Grammys echos The Weeknd’s accusation of the Grammys in November after his his critically-acclaimed album After Hours failed to receive any nominations for the 2021 Grammy awards. The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, with some naming it the Weeknd’s best work. The Canadian superstar tagged the awards ‘corrupt’.
“The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency…,” The Weeknd wrote.
The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency…
— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) November 25, 2020
After Hours is the biggest-selling album of the year so far in the US, while Blinding Lights is the longest-running top 10 hit in US chart history.
In January, The Weeknd said that his past Grammy wins meant nothing to him anymore: “Look, I personally don’t care anymore. I have three GRAMMYs, which mean nothing to me now, obviously…It’s not like, ‘Oh, I want the GRAMMY!’ 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.”
The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards will air live from Los Angeles on CBS Sunday evening.
