The Weeknd ends Grammy boycott with surprise performance of new songs
The Toronto superstar has refused to submit to the awards show since 2021
There were plenty of memorable moments at the 67th Grammy Awards held in Los Angeles on Feb. 2, but one of the biggest surprises was the Weeknd's return to the Grammy stage after nearly a four-year boycott.
Abel Tesfaye, a.k.a. the Weeknd, announced in March 2021 that he would no longer be submitting to the Grammys after his incredibly commercially and critically successful 2020 album, After Hours — which includes Spotify's most-streamed song, "Blinding Lights" — didn't receive any nominations for the 2021 Grammys.
"The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency…" he tweeted.
"Because of the secret committees," the Weeknd later told the New York Times, "I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys," referencing the industry people and artists who vote on the nominees.
Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, introduced the Weeknd's return to the Grammy stage, acknowledging what had happened.
"The Academy faced some real criticism from many in our music community," Mason said. "Some artists were pretty vocal with their complaints.... Criticism is OK. I heard [Tesfaye]. I felt his conviction."
"We have completely re-made our membership, adding more than 3,000 women voting members," Mason continued. "The Grammy electorate is now younger, nearly 40 per cent people of colour, and 66 per cent of our members are new since we started our transformation. Over the past few years, we have listened, we've acted and we've changed."
The Weeknd then performed "Cry For Me" and "Timeless," two songs from his brand new album, Hurry Up Tomorrow, with special guest Playboi Carti.
The Weeknd was nominated for one Grammy this year due to his feature on Future and Metro Boomin's "We Still Don't Trust You." The song was up for best melodic rap performance, but lost to "3:AM" by Rhapsody and Erykah Badu.
When the Weeknd dropped his highly anticipated album on Jan. 31, he also announced a 2025 stadium tour, which will bring him to Canada for five dates: Vancouver (July 15), Edmonton (July 19), Montreal (July 24) and Toronto (July 27 and 28).