“We understand that The Weeknd is disappointed at not being nominated,” Harvey said in the statement. “I was surprised and can empathize with what he’s feeling. His music this year was excellent, and his contributions to the music community and broader world are worthy of everyone’s admiration.”
The statement also refuted a previous TMZ report citing sources who described tense negotiations between The Weeknd and the Academy over whether the singer would perform at the Grammys ceremony or the Super Bowl halftime show. The TMZ story claimed that his choice to perform at the annual NFL title game led to soured feelings among Grammy brass that may have impacted voting.
“We were thrilled when we found out he would be performing at the upcoming Super Bowl, and we would have loved to have him also perform on the Grammy stage the weekend before,” Harvey continued. “To be clear, voting in all categories ended well before The Weeknd’s performance at the Super Bowl was announced, so in no way could it have affected the nomination process.”
Harvey had told Variety shortly after nominations were announced that he doesn’t believe that the lack of nominations for The Weeknd implies a flawed voting process. He explained that decisions on the nominees for the four top “core” awards—Best Album, Song, Record and New Artist—come down to the tastes of a voting body of around 20 people.
