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After the Grammy nominations were announced last Tuesday, Halsey‘s fans were quick to question why the “Graveyard” singer was noticeably absent from the list of nominees — marking the second year in a row the singer was shut out.
Her album Manic — released in January — was favored to pick up several nods for producing the singles “Without Me,” “Graveyard” and “You Should Be Sad.”
After taking nearly a week to gather her thoughts, the 26-year-old finally broke her silence to address the controversy.
“I’ve been thinking and wanted to choose my words carefully because a lot of people have extended sympathy and apology to me since the Grammy nominations,” the 2017 Grammy nominee expressed Saturday on her Instagram stories.
Halsey went on to explain how some artists earn nods, which she says is problematic.
“The Grammys are an elusive process. It can often be about behind the scenes private performances, knowing the right people, campaigning though the grapevine, with the right handshakes and ‘bribes’ that can be just ambiguous enough to pass as ‘not-bribes,'” she noted before going into the next part of the process.
“If you get that far, it’s about committing to exclusive TV performances and making sure you help the Academy make their millions in advertising,” continued Halsey. “Perhaps sometimes it is (!!) but it’s not always about the music or quality or culture.”
She then mentioned The Weeknd, who was also shockingly shut out of this year’s list of nominees, and claimed he “deserved better.”
“Manic did too,” Halsey furthered. “Perhaps it’s unbecoming of me to say so but I can’t care anymore.”
“While I am THRILLED for my talented friends who were recognized this year, I am hoping for more transparency and reform. But I’m sure this post will blacklist me anyway,” she concluded.
By Megan Stone
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