Celebrated musicians and nominees including Kanye West, Justin Bieber and Drake have reportedly decided to boycott the upcoming Grammy Awards ceremony that is to be held on February 12.
According to celebrity news giant TMZ, 22-year-old Justin, for starters, is actually making plans to be elsewhere on the day of the 2017 Grammys, despite being nominated for four awards. “He just doesn’t think the Grammys are relevant or representative, especially when it comes to young singers,” claimed a source close to the singer.
Also on the no-show list is 30-year-old Canadian artist Drake, who has eight nominations this year. The One Dance singer has cited reasons similar to that of Justin’s for his decision.
Fellow rapper Kanye West, who is up for eight awards – will reportedly be sitting out of the ceremony as well. His reason for boycotting this year’s show, however, is racially motivated.
According to sources, the Gold Digger hitmaker has picked up a total of 21 Grammys in the past but he claims he has never won when going up against a white artist. “There’s no real anger; it’s just that a lot of younger singers are of the opinion that the Grammys are out of touch and arguably irrelevant,” added an insider.
Interestingly, neither Justin not Drake or even Kanye are the first to express bitter sentiments towards the Grammys. Earlier this year, singer Frank Ocean reportedly did not even bother to submit his albumBlonde for consideration, although many claims it was the best one of 2016. He too feels like the ceremony fails to represent black musicians adequately.
“That institution certainly has nostalgic importance. It just doesn’t seem to be representing very well for people who come from where I come from, and hold down what I hold down,” the 29-year-old told theNew York Times in an earlier interview. “I think the infrastructure of the awarding system and the nomination system and screening system is dated. I’d rather this be my Colin Kaepernick moment for the Grammys than sitting there in the audience.”
