The Weeknd is back on good terms with the Recording Academy after a three-year boycott.
The Canadian singer made a surprise appearance at the 2025 Grammy Awards, where he performed “Cry For Me” and “Timeless” from his latest album, Hurry Up Tomorrow.
Before The Weeknd hit the stage, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason, Jr. delivered remarks about the changes the Grammys have made since his boycott.
“Criticism is OK. I heard him, and I felt his conviction. What we all want is an organization dedicated to the well-being of all music makers, and one that reflects the entire music community, for now, and for future generations. So, over the past few years, we’ve listened. We’ve acted. And, we‘ve changed.
We’ve launched initiatives like the Black Music Collective, Women in the Mix, Academy Proud, and others. We have completely re-made our membership, adding more than 3,000 women voting members. The Grammy electorate is now younger, nearly 40% people of color, and 66% of our members are new since we started our transformation,” said Mason.
He continued, “This year, the 13,000 voting members of the Academy, nominated their peers and voted for the winners that you’re seeing on this stage tonight. It’s a system rooted in fairness, integrity, and the principle that every voice in our community matters. Now, charting a new course is never easy, there is still work to be done… but I firmly believe we’re on the right path.”
In 2020, The Weeknd publicly called out the Recording Academy on Twitter (now X) after his blockbuster album After Hours didn’t receive any nominations at the 63rd Grammys. Even hits like “Blinding Lights,” “Save Your Tears” and “Heartless” were not nominated.
“The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency…” The Weeknd wrote in a since-deleted post.
In a statement to The New York Times in 2021, The Weeknd declared he was boycotting the Grammys going forward. “Because of the secret committees, I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys,” he told the publication.
Mason, then-interim CEO of the Academy, responded to The Weeknd in a statement. “We’re all disappointed when anyone is upset,” he told The New York Times. “But I will say that we are constantly evolving. And this year, as in past years, we are going to take a hard look at how to improve our awards process, including the nomination review committees.”
In April 2021, the Recording Academy made an amendment in its rulebook to eliminate its Nominations Review Committees:
Nominations in all of the GRAMMY Award general and genre fields will now be determined by a majority, peer-to-peer vote of voting members of the Recording Academy. Previously, many of the categories within these fields utilized 15-30 highly skilled music peers who represented and voted within their genre communities for the final selection of nominees. With this change, the results of GRAMMY nominations and winners are placed back in the hands of the entire voting membership body, giving further validation to the peer-recognized process.
Mason said in a statement, “This is a new Academy, one that is driven to action and that has doubled down on the commitment to meeting the needs of the music community.”
Mason has always been open to embracing necessary changes to the Academy. It’s been one of his priorities since stepping into his role as CEO.
“I’m not the same person that led our organization before,” he told Rated R&B in a 2020 interview. “The organization is in the process of having new leadership, so with that new leadership, comes an opportunity to make some changes and to address some things that are important to the Academy, but more specifically important to me.”
The Weeknd’s freshly-released album Hurry Up Tomorrow arrives during the eligibility period for the 68th Grammy Awards, which takes place in 2026. No word yet if he intends to submit the album or its tracks for Grammy consideration.
Hurry Up Tomorrow concludes The Weeknd’s album trilogy that started with 2020’s After Hours followed by 2022’s Dawn FM.
This spring, he will embark on the North American leg of his After Hours Till Dawn Stadium Tour.
