Grammys Drop Secret Nominations Committees After Backlash
The Recording Academy has voted to remove its controversial nominations review committees, reports The New York Times. These anonymous expert groups, which have been in place since 1989, review the initial nomination choices from voting members and ultimately decide who makes the cut in 61 of the Grammys’ 84 categories.
In recent years, the “secret” committees have faced criticism from artists including The Weeknd, who famously blasted the Grammys after being shut out of the 2021 nominations despite the success of his latest album, After Hours.
On Saturday, the Recording Academy’s board of trustees met and approved the change to cut the nominations review committees. “It’s been a year of unprecedented, transformational change for the Recording Academy, and I’m immensely proud to be able to continue our journey of growth with these latest updates to our awards process,” Harvey Mason Jr., the Academy’s interim president and CEO, said in a statement.
“This is a new Academy, one that is driven to action and that has doubled down on the commitment to meeting the needs of the music community. While change and progress are key drivers of our actions, one thing will always remain — the Grammy Award is the only peer-driven and peer-voted recognition in music,” he continued. “We are honored to work alongside the music community year-round to further refine and protect the integrity of the awards process.”
The committees are being eliminated for the four top prizes (Album, Song, Record, and Best New Artist) and all genre categories, but review panels will remain for 11 craft categories covering awards for production, packaging, album notes, and historical recordings.