The Grammys are less than a week away and while many musicians are either gearing up for performances or potential wins, others are calling out the Recording Academy for its exclusionary practices. The Weeknd recently made headlines when he outed the Academy for snubbing his After Hours album, which had the best-selling song of 2020. Now, former One Direction member Zayn is the latest artist to air their grievances with the Academy.
Zayn returned this January, following the birth of his first child with Gigi Hadid, to share his anticipated third LP Nobody Is Listening. Since the album was released in 2021, it is not eligible for this weekend’s Grammy Awards. But that didn’t stop Zayn from slamming the ceremony in a recent tweet.
The singer condemned the Grammys for gatekeeping nominations. “F*ck the grammys and everyone associated. Unless you shake hands and send gifts, there’s no nomination considerations. Next year I’ll send you a basket of confectionary,” he wrote.
Fuck the grammys and everyone associated. Unless you shake hands and send gifts, there’s no nomination considerations. Next year I’ll send you a basket of confectionary.
— zayn (@zaynmalik) March 9, 2021
Of course, The Weeknd has a similar sentiment when it comes to the Academy. After the singer received no nominations for his chart-topping album After Hours, The Weeknd called out the “corrupt” Grammys. “The Grammys remain corrupt,” he wrote in a tweet. “You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency…”
Other artists like Ellie Goulding, Fiona Apple, and Lil Wayne have recently dragged the Grammys. Apple even said that she’d like to smash her award with a sledgehammer on stage if her album Fetch The Bolt Cutters ends up winning.