The Weeknd’s Sucker Punch

The Weeknd has opened up about receiving no nominations for the 2021 Grammy awards. The singer told Billboard that the snub felt like “an attack.” He explained, “I use a sucker punch as an analogy.  Because it just kind of hit me out of nowhere. I definitely felt … I felt things. I don’t know if it was sadness or anger. I think it was just confusion. I just wanted answers. Like, ‘What happened?’ We did everything right, I think.”

He continued, “I’m not a cocky person. I’m not arrogant. 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.”

He added, “If you were like, ‘Do you think the Grammys are racist?’ I think the only real answer is that in the last 61 years of the Grammys, only 10 Black artists have won album of the year.  I don’t want to make this about me. That’s just a fact.”

Meanwhile, during the interview, The Weeknd revealed that he has invested $7 million of his own money into the Pepsi Super Bowl LV Halftime Show to make it “be what he envisioned.” He added, “We’ve been really focusing on dialing in on the fans at home and making performances a cinematic experience, and we want to do that with the Super Bowl.”