The Weeknd performing on the Grammys stage was surely not on any of our 2025 bingo cards. After speaking out against the Recording Academy in 2021 when his After Hours album received zero nominations, The Weeknd began his boycott of the Grammys, bowing out of any awards submissions. However, on the heels of his Hurry Up Tomorrow release, the musician took to the stage as a surprise guest to end his boycott of the show during last night’s 67th Grammy Awards.
He performed a captivating medley of Hurry Up Tomorrow fan-favorites “Cry For Me” and “Timeless,” bringing out collaborator and tourmate Playboi Carti for the latter of the two.
“I remember waking up to the headlines that The Weeknd called out the academy for lack of transparency in our awards. I heard him and I felt his conviction,” Grammys chief Harvey Mason Jr. reflected on The Weeknd’s 2021 remarks, noting it was the groundwork for ample Grammys changes.
“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.”
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