Over the weekend, the Recording Academy announced its list of performers for this year’s Grammys ceremony, which includes Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, and other big names. A pair of artists was excluded, though, and they’re not pleased about it: Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, who are now collectively known as Silk Sonic. The two were so flabbergasted by their absence from the list that they took to Twitter to vent their frustrations and rally the Academy to give them a shot.
Yesterday afternoon, .Paak shared a graphic of the performers list and tweeted, “YO @BrunoMars WHAT THE F*CK?!? Did you see this?!?! Call me back!!” Mars replied, “Wait… are you sure this is even real? where did you find this?” That was the beginning of a playful back-and-forth, which .Paak continued, “Bro it says CBS right at the top! It’s legit. What the F*CK!!?! ANSWER YOUR PHONE!!”
Mars answered, “Are you sure these are performers and not just presenters,” to which .Paak replied, “FAM STOP!!! Did they even hear the song?!? They don’t love us??” Mars then shared a revised image of the list and wrote, “See @AndersonPaak You’ve been misinformed. This is the real real bill. we’re all good!” As .Paak quickly pointed out, though, “And we’re not on this either you PRICK!!!” That elicited a simple “Oh” from Mars.
This is when .Paak got the ball rolling, tweeting, “Do we need to get a hashtag going or something??” Presumably rubbing his eyes while tweeting his response, Mars wrote, “Andy just chill. i’m still waking up.” .Paak was unrelenting, responding, “Nah f*ck that! I haven’t seen my family in months!! I need this to work, You promised me!! Everybody join in!!! I need all of Twitter to help make this trend!! Come on @RecordingAcad #LetSilkSonicThrive.” Mars answered, “I don’t think this is how u get on a show @AndersonPaak, & that’s a pretty long hashtag but i’m rockin wit you. #LetSilkSonicThrive.”
Mars then shared a letter that read:
“Dear Grammys,
If you can see it in your hearts to allow two out of work musicians to perform at your show, we would really appreciate it. We just released a song and could really use the promotion right now. We have a lot riding on this record (and the Pelicans game next week, but that’s another story). We haven’t been able to perform for a while and we just want to sing. We’ll send in an audition tape and take as many covid tests as we need to. I promise we won’t be extra. We just really want a gig again. I hope you’ll consider this request and give us the opportunity to shine. Love, Silk Sonic.”
.Paak added, “WHAT HE SAID! #LetSilkSonicThrive.” .Paak later noted that the hashtag had become a trending topic on Twitter, writing, “@RecordingAcad I know you see this!! We doing real numbers out here!! You can’t ignore the people!!!#LetSilkSonicThrive.” Mars responded, “Yo!!! @AndersonPaak It’s working! you’re a real twitter wizard! @RecordingAcad please log on and look at this!!! #LetSilkSonicThrive.” Mars added, “Wow this started with just us 2 and now we’re a whole army! There’s nothing we cant do. First the Grammys then the world! UNLIMITED POWERRR!”
Still, it would seem .Paak lost hope in the cause, as he was quick to attempt to hop on the BTS train, tweeting, “Bro the @RecordingAcad haven’t even responded… @bts_bighit do y’all need a drummer? #LetSilkSonicThrive.” Mars responded, “You’re right. I got excited we were trending for a while today. I’m sorry I let you down. I hope you & BTS go on to do great things,” to which .Paak replied, “You never let me down champ! Only disappointed me. But sh*t atleast it’s top trending! Don’t give up hope! Either The Grammys or BTS is gonna hit us Back I know it. thank you guys so much!!! #LetSilkSonicThrive.”
Mars and .Paak are certainly fit to appear on the Grammys stage, as they are both accomplished veterans of the awards: Mars has picked up 11 Grammy wins from 27 nominations, while .Paak has 3 wins from 7 nominations.
That’s where the situation stands now. It’s not clear if this is some sort of elaborate social media campaign leading up to an official announcement of Silk Sonic’s addition to the Grammy performance lineup, if this is actually how Mars and .Paak are trying to get involved, or if they’re just goofing around and getting some viral self-promotion in on Twitter. Either way, check out the tweets here or below.
YO @BrunoMars WHAT THE FUCK?!? Did you see this?!?! Call me back!! pic.twitter.com/nS2brA54gK
— Anderson .Blacked (@AndersonPaak) March 7, 2021
Wait… are you sure this is even real? where did you find this? https://t.co/Ew3e3mwDKA
— Bruno Mars (@BrunoMars) March 7, 2021
Bro it says CBS right at the top! It’s legit. What the FUCK!!?! ANSWER YOUR PHONE!! https://t.co/RwsX2Swv0q
— Anderson .Blacked (@AndersonPaak) March 7, 2021
Are you sure these are performers and not just presenters? https://t.co/4eWnSatkzj
— Bruno Mars (@BrunoMars) March 7, 2021
FAM STOP!!! Did they even hear the song?!? They don’t love us?? https://t.co/LYiyUG3x9W
— Anderson .Blacked (@AndersonPaak) March 7, 2021
See @AndersonPaak You’ve been misinformed. This is the real real bill. we’re all good! pic.twitter.com/xeqEMwke1f
— Bruno Mars (@BrunoMars) March 7, 2021
And we’re not on this either you PRICK!!! https://t.co/iPs1W4HUvh
— Anderson .Blacked (@AndersonPaak) March 7, 2021
— Bruno Mars (@BrunoMars) March 7, 2021
Do we need to get a hashtag going or something?? @BrunoMars
— Anderson .Blacked (@AndersonPaak) March 7, 2021
Andy just chill. i’m still waking up. https://t.co/RbUzEh4Wtq
— Bruno Mars (@BrunoMars) March 7, 2021
Nah fuck that! I haven’t seen my family in months!! I need this to work, You promised me!! Everybody join in!!! I need all of Twitter to help make this trend!! Come on @RecordingAcad #LetSilkSonicThrive https://t.co/uqiAyYzqTp
— Anderson .Blacked (@AndersonPaak) March 7, 2021
I don’t think this is how u get on a show @AndersonPaak, & that’s a pretty long hashtag but i’m rockin wit you. #LetSilkSonicThrive https://t.co/ztZyV2T8Yk
— Bruno Mars (@BrunoMars) March 7, 2021
#LetSilkSonicThrive @RecordingAcad pic.twitter.com/Ze5nuZQnvi
— Bruno Mars (@BrunoMars) March 7, 2021
Just #LetSilkSonicThrive https://t.co/9lRn5MOXhi
— Bruno Mars (@BrunoMars) March 7, 2021
WHAT HE SAID! #LetSilkSonicThrive https://t.co/iwE67n0Byt
— Anderson .Blacked (@AndersonPaak) March 7, 2021
#LetSilkSonicThrive https://t.co/M51wHXkm1Z
— Silk Sonic (@silksonic) March 7, 2021
@RecordingAcad I know you see this!! We doing real numbers out here!! You can’t ignore the people!!!#LetSilkSonicThrive pic.twitter.com/bU3Esm2CGI
— Anderson .Blacked (@AndersonPaak) March 7, 2021
Yo!!! @AndersonPaak It’s working! you’re a real twitter wizard! @RecordingAcad please log on and look at this!!! #LetSilkSonicThrive https://t.co/s8olN2JGjY
— Bruno Mars (@BrunoMars) March 8, 2021
also Gracias! #LetSilkSonicThrive https://t.co/yScuuvoXE5
— Bruno Mars (@BrunoMars) March 8, 2021
!!! #LetSilkSonicThrive https://t.co/llXpIbI4Oi
— Bruno Mars (@BrunoMars) March 8, 2021
Wow this started with just us 2 and now we’re a whole army! There’s nothing we cant do. First the Grammys then the world! UNLIMITED POWERRR! pic.twitter.com/EtEwrWBnv0
— Bruno Mars (@BrunoMars) March 8, 2021
Bro the @RecordingAcad haven’t even responded…@bts_bighit do y’all need a drummer? #LetSilkSonicThrive https://t.co/HuQcSKXhuo
— Anderson .Blacked (@AndersonPaak) March 8, 2021
You’re right. I got excited we were trending for a while today. I’m sorry I let you down. I hope you & BTS go on to do great things. https://t.co/kjpiGQdylP
— Bruno Mars (@BrunoMars) March 8, 2021
You never let me down champ! Only disappointed me. But shit atleast it’s top trending! Don’t give up hope! Either The Grammys or BTS is gonna hit us Back I know it. thank you guys so much!!! #LetSilkSonicThrive https://t.co/BvoFCPjtaL
— Anderson .Blacked (@AndersonPaak) March 8, 2021
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.