Harsh criticism toward the Grammy Awards ceremony from pop superstar The Weeknd has led the Recording Academy to reconsider its nomination process. After The Weeknd—the world’s second most-streamed artist on Spotify—was snubbed at last year’s ceremony, the artist called for increased transparency around the organization’s nomination process.
The Recording Academy has taken that criticism into consideration and will now forgo using anonymous review committees to determine its nominees. The Academy has also changed the number of categories in which Academy members can vote, and added two additional award categories. With the changes, the Academy seeks to “reflect its ongoing commitment to evolve with the musical landscape and to ensure that the GRAMMY Awards rules and guidelines are transparent and equitable.”
The Weeknd at the 2016 Grammys after winning in the categories of Best R&B Performance and Best Urban Contemporary Album.
FilmMagic
In the new system, all nominees will now be determined by thousands of votes through the Academy’s voting members, as opposed to the previous system, wherein at least 20 people chose the top eight nominees out of all artists to fit the ceremony’s four biggest categories: Best Album, Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best New Artist.
“It’s been a year of unprecedented, transformational change for the Recording Academy, and I’m immensely proud to be able to continue our journey of growth with these latest updates to our Awards process,” said Harvey Mason Jr., the Recording Academy’s interim president and CEO in a statement.
The Weeknd previously vowed to boycott the Grammys after 2020’s snub, and has not commented on the situation since the Recording Academy’s announcement last Friday.
