Drake calls for 'something new' after The Weeknd, Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj's 'corrupt' Grammy snubs

The Weeknd, Drake Nicki Minaj and other stars are lashing out against the Recording Academy following shocking Grammy nomination snubs.

Most notable was The Weeknd, who failed to pick up a single Grammy nod Tuesday for his critically acclaimed "After Hours" album, which includes two top-100 hits – "Blinding Lights" and "Heartless."

"The Grammys remain corrupt," The Weeknd wrote on Twitter. "You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency..."

The Weeknd's snub came after the three-time Grammy winner dominated the R&B categories at Sunday's American Music Awards and landed the upcoming the Super Bowl halftime show.

Variety called the nominations oversight, "the biggest snub in recent memory, and one that is difficult to explain."

The Recording Academy has faced persistent criticism in recent years for the lack of awards process transparency. In January, the academy's ousted CEO Deborah Dugan alleged in a legal complaint how the "Grammys process is ripe with corruption," saying that the board uses "secret committees" to whittle down nominees and "push forward artists with whom they have relationships."

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Harvey Mason Jr., interim president of the Recording Academy, the group that oversees the Jan. 31 Grammys, said in a statement obtained by USA TODAY that he, too, was surprised by the Weeknd's shutout. But he denied any wrongdoing by the organization or the process in the "unusual and competitive year," which saw a record number of submissions.

"Unfortunately, every year, there are fewer nominations than the number of deserving artists," said Mason in the statement.

The Weeknd's media representative did not respond to a USA TODAY request for comment.

Citing The Weeknd snub, Drake says Grammys 'may no longer matter'

On Wednesday, The Weeknd reposted Drake's Instagram Story comments about the album nomination snub and a larger message about the increasing irrelevance of traditional music awards.

"I think we should stop allowing ourselves to be shocked every year by the disconnect between impactful music and these awards and just accept that what once was the highest form of recognition may no longer matter to the artists that exist now and the ones that come after," Drake wrote. "It’s like a relative you keep expecting to fix up but they just can’t change their ways."

Drake noted his high expectations for The Weeknd leading up to the Grammys, his subsequent disappointment and the need to consider some new kind of recognition.

"The other day I said @theweeknd was a lock for either album or song of the year along with countless other reasonable assumptions and it just never goes that way," Drake wrote. "This is a great time for somebody to start something new that we can build upon over time and pass on to the generations to come."

Nicki Minaj calls out lack of diversity

Nicki Minaj pointed at the Recording Academy's continued pattern of failing to recognize exceptional Black artists, including her own alleged snub eight years ago, when she lost Best New Artist to Bon Iver.

"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," Minaj tweeted Tuesday. "They gave it to the white man Bon Iver."

There are plenty of cases to be made within the past decade alone, from Macklemore controversially besting Kendrick Lamar for Best Rap Album in 2014, to Beyoncé's "Lemonade" memorably losing album of the year to Adele’s "25" in 2017.

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Cardi B, Wiz Khalifa spar

When a fan tweeted that "cardi wining a Grammy when nicki minaj didn't is the biggest proof that they don't know a (expletive) bout music," rapper Wiz Khalifa said, "Most self made artists have this problem."

Cardi B, who won the Best Rap Album Grammy in 2019, didn't appreciate Khalifa's take.

"I don’t understand why (expletive) entertain tweets that pit successful women against each other?" Cardi tweeted. "Ya not tired of that? Specially when ya was rooting hard when a (expletive) was at the bottom."

Khalifa later clarified his statement, writing, "I still support u. Nothings changed. Your self made in my book as well."

Justin Bieber, Teyana Taylor slam R&B category

A group of young female R&B acts moving the needle also missed out on nominations, including Summer Walker, Teyana Taylor and Kehlani. Late rapper Juice WRLD, Brandy and Chris Brown were also snubbed.

"Y’all was better off just saying best MALE R&B ALBUM cause all I see is (expletive) in this category," Taylor tweeted, referring to the lack of gender representation.

In another tweet, Taylor clarified: "I’m blasting the @RecordingAcad for failing ALL the women that has been putting in work. Women are clearly being overlooked here. WOMEN PLAYS A BIG PART IN CARRYING R&B."

Justin Bieber, who earned four nominations, also criticized the Grammys' decision-making in the R&B category, saying his fifth studio album, "Changes," was miscategorized as pop.

Although he was grateful and said he was he was “flattered” by the recognition, he said it was a mistake to leave it out of the R&B category.

"I set out to make an R&B album,” he wrote on Instagram. “’Changes’ was and is an R&B album. It is not being acknowledged as an R&B album, which is very strange to me."

Contributing: The Associated Press; Piet Levy, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Drake wants 'something new' after The Weeknd's 'corrupt' Grammy snub