Grammy
chief
Harvey
Mason
Jr
has
opened
up
about
R&B
star
The
Weeknd's
"corruption" accusations
against
The
Recording
Academy.
He
added
that
he
too
was
surprised
that
the
singer
did
not
receive
any
nominations.
The
Weeknd
who
has
the
biggest-selling
album
this
year
and
won
multiple
awards
at
both
the
MTV
VMAs
and
American
Music
Awards,
did
not
receive
any
nominations.
Reacting
to
the
snub
The
Weeknd,
whose
real
name
is
Abel
Makkonen
Tesfaye
had
tweeted,
"The
Grammys
remain
corrupt.
You
owe
me,
my
fans
and
the
industry
transparency,"
In
a
statement
shared
by
Variety,
Grammy
chief
Harvey
Mason
Jr
said,
"Congratulations
to
today's
Grammy
nominees,
who
have
earned
their
peers'
recognition
for
their
incredible
work.
There
were
a
record
number
of
submissions
in
this
unusual
and
competitive
year.
We
understand
that
The
Weeknd
is
disappointed
at
not
being
nominated.
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."
Mason
Jr
also
confirmed
reports
that
The
Weeknd
was
originally
expected
to
perform
at
the
Grammy
Awards
ceremony
on
January
31.
The
statement
added,
"Unfortunately,
every
year,
there
are
fewer
nominations
than
the
number
of
deserving
artists.
But
as
the
only
peer-voted
music
award,
we
will
continue
to
recognize
and
celebrate
excellence
in
music
while
shining
a
light
on
the
many
amazing
artists
that
make
up
our
global
community."
"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," the
Grammy
head
said.