Singer Zayn Malik posted a scathing tweet on March 9 airing his grievances with the Recording Academy and its nominations process that he suggested was rigged.
“[Expletive] 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,” Malik wrote.
His much-talked-about post comes days before the Grammy Awards are due to be held.
Malik’s third studio album ‘Nobody Is Listening’ released on January 15 and missed the eligibility period for the 2021 Grammys.
The former One Direction member, however, clarified that his tweet was not made to call out anyone in particular.
“My tweet was not personal or about eligibility but was about the need for inclusion and the lack of transparency of the nomination process and the space that creates and allows favoritism, racism, and netwokring [sic] politics to influence the voting process,” Malik, 28, tweeted.
Malik has released three albums so far; 2016’s ‘Mind of Mine’, his first solo venture after quitting boy group One Direction, went Platinum in the US.
The singer, who last year welcomed his first child with girlfriend Gigi Hadid, is not the only person to have beef with the Recording Academy.
After the 2021 Grammy nominations were announced in November 2020, chart-topping star The Weeknd took out his frustration at being snubbed.
“The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency,” he tweeted at the time.
People were confused why the three-time Grammy winner was unable to garner a single nomination despite the success of his album ‘After Hours’ and Billboard Hot 100 topping track ‘Blinding Lights’.
In a later interview with Billboard, The Weeknd appeared to be jaded about awards in general.
“Look, I personally don’t care anymore. I have three Grammys, which mean nothing to me now, obviously,” the 31-year-old said. “It’s not like, “Oh, I want the Grammy!”
“We did everything right, I think. I’m not a cocky person. I’m not arrogant,” he added “People told me I was going to get nominated. The world told me. Like, ‘This is it; this is your year’. We were all very confused.”
The 63rd annual Grammy Awards will be held in the US on March 15.
