It's hard to imagine making it through the soul-crushing awfulness of 2020 without the Weeknd's After Hours there to keep us company. And yet, the unveiling of the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards nominations on Tuesday had the unbecoming distinction of including zero mentions of the latest entry in Abel's oeuvre.
Some have responded to this shutout by theorizing that it's merely a matter of a submission decision by the Weeknd and his team. That would be an odd development given that Tesfaye was recently prominently featured in Rolling Stone's pre-Grammys coverage.
Just after the eligibility window closed, this trailer—featuring acclaim for the acclaim-worthy album—was shared from the official Weeknd Twitter account:
And the day before nominations were announced, Abel shared a special message just for fans, thanking them for their continued support on the After Hours journey:
We've reached out to the Weeknd's rep for comment and will update this post accordingly. In the meantime, join in on the questioning of how—seriously how—an awards show meant to honor achievements in music could overlook one of the most celebrated albums of the year. You know, the one that birthed “Blinding Lights,” which just set the record for most weeks in the Billboard 100’s Top 10, where it’s sat comfortably for 40 weeks in total.
Understandably, tucked into the commentary is the emergence of Kanye West's infamous urinating-on-a-Grammy moment from earlier this year as a meme of sorts.
After Hours on repeat for the rest of the day? Don't mind if I do.
