Meanwhile, sources tell TMZ that the Super Bowl may very well be the reason for lack of nominations:
Sources familiar with the situation tell us The Weeknd's team was in talks for weeks with Grammy brass, who issued the ultimatum -- us or Super Bowl LV. We're told both sides eventually came to an agreement where Abel could do both, but not without negotiations getting very testy.
Our sources say there's growing suspicion Abel's decision to perform at this year's Super Bowl cost him Grammy noms because the bitter back-and-forth talks pissed off Grammy honchos.
It's unclear why the Grammys would play such hardball in trying to exclusively book him for their airwaves. It might be fear of duplicate performances, as CBS is airing the award show AND the game one week apart in February. Still, our sources tell us Abel and co. feel the dispute might have something to do with his exclusion.
In related news, Nicki Minaj has used the Grammys announcement day to call them out for not awarding her Best New Artist in 2012, the year Bon Iver won. "Never forget the Grammys didn’t give me my best new artist award when I had 7 songs simultaneously charting on billboard & bigger first week than any female rapper in the last decade- went on to inspire a generation," she wrote. "They gave it to the white man Bon Iver. #PinkFriday." Her tweet has caused tons of reactions, including several people asking "who is Bon Iver?" again.
Obviously this is far from the first time that popular musicians have criticized the Grammys. Frank Ocean, Diddy, Ariana Grande, Halsey, and many others have in recent years. When Bon Iver accepted the Best New Artist award in 2012, he voiced some criticism about The Academy then too.
The 2021 nominations include Post Malone, Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift, Coldplay, Jhene Aiko, Black Pumas, Coldplay, Haim, and Jacob Collier up for album of the year; Beyonce, Roddy Ricch, Taylor Swift, Post Malone, Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish, H.E.R., and JP Saxe/Julia Michaels up for song of the year; Beyonce, Black Pumas, DaBaby/Roddy Ricch, Doja Cat, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Post Malone, and Megan Thee Stallion/Beyonce up for record of the year; Megan Thee Stallion, Phoebe Bridgers, Doja Cat, Chika, D Smoke, Noah Cyrus, Kaytranada, and Ingrid Andress up for best new artist; and more. See the full list here.
