Voting for the 2023 Grammy Awards begins today, and the ballot reveals that Drake and the Weeknd are continuing to withhold their music from awards consideration. Both artists appear across the ballot numerous times for their guest work, but their respective eligible solo albums—Honestly, Nevermind and Dawn FM—are nowhere to be found, nor are their major solo singles, such as “Sticky” and “Sacrifice.”
Drake has long expressed frustrations with the Grammy Awards and the Recording Academy, memorably skipping the show in 2017 and criticizing the academy for nominating “Hotline Bling” in rap categories despite insisting his hit was a pop song. Last year, he pulled his music from consideration after receiving nominations for Certified Lover Boy and “Way 2 Sexy.”
The Weeknd began his boycott of the Grammys in 2021 after not receiving any nominations for the massively successful After Hours or its singles. “Because of the secret committees, I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys,” he said at the time, and, even after the Recording Academy changed some of its rules, he maintained that would not be submitting his work. Despite his boycott, the Weeknd won the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance for his contributions to Kanye West’s “Hurricane.”
Pitchfork has reached out to Drake and the Weeknd’s respective representatives for comment and more information.
