Drake Withdraws His 2 Grammy Nominations for 2021
Drake has withdrawn consideration for his two Grammy nominations for this year, an individual with knowledge told TheWrap.
The individual says the decision was made by Drake and his management team, and the request will be honored, but it’s unclear as to why he chose to withdraw.
Drake was nominated for two Grammys this year, including Best Rap Performance for his song “Way 2 Sexy” featuring Future & Young Thug, and for his album “Certified Lover Boy” in the Best Rap Album category. The nominations brought him up to 49 lifetime nominations, and he also has four Grammy wins.
Ballots for voting on the Grammys were made available to voters through the Grammys website beginning Monday, and his name is expected to be removed from the ballots soon.
Drake’s nomination will also not be replaced with the song or artist that received the sixth most votes, and both categories will proceed only with four nominees.
In the wake of the scandal in which The Weeknd vowed to boycott the Grammys, Drake believed the album was a “lock” for a nomination but said that “we should stop allowing ourselves to be shocked every year by the disconnect between impactful music and these awards” after The Weeknd’s “After Hours” was snubbed.
Drake also recently performed on stage with Travis Scott as part of the deadly Astroworld music festival last month, and his name has been listed among some of the civil lawsuits from attendees seeking damages.
The New York Times recently reported that as part of a surprise rule change this year in which the Big 4 general field categories were expanded from eight to 10 nominees, Taylor Swift, Kanye West, Lil Nas X and ABBA were added to the final list of nominees and were among those to have benefited from the rule change. However, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said that the new additions were simply the ninth and tenth most-voted on nominees.
The Grammys will air on January 31, 2022, on CBS, as well as stream on-demand on Paramount+. The show will be hosted by Trevor Noah.