Grammys boss says ‘we are listening like never before’ after criticism from The Weeknd and Zayn Malik

Recording Academy has been accused of allowing favouritism and racism to sway its voting process

Grammys boss Harvey Mason Jr has responded to criticism over the event’s voting process.

The 63rd ceremony, which was split between live and virtual appearances, was marred by accusations that its voting procedure allows for favouritism and racism to influence the nominations and winners.

Voting committees are made up of anonymous experts from the Recording Academy, the body which oversees the Grammys.

Organisers say the process protects the integrity of the awards, but critics argue it leaves the committees unaccountable.

Mason Jr, interim president and chief executive officer of the academy, has now promised to build “a new Recording Academy that we can all be proud of”.

“We are listening like never before. We hear the cries for diversity, the pleas for representation and demands for transparency,” he said.

“I first joined the academy 20 years ago so I could vote for myself, but what I quickly found, what led me to become a trustee and now chair of the board, is that the Recording Academy is about so much more than an award, more than an individual artist or even who is chair.”

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He continued: “Tonight, I am here to ask the entire music industry to join in and work with us, not against us as we build a new Recording Academy that we can all be proud of, one that will continue to do the work and serve everyone in the industry.”

Zayn Malik called out the Grammys over its voting process (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

Among the ceremony’s most vocal critics are music stars Zayn Malik, The Weeknd and Halsey, all of whom have claimed they were unfairly snubbed by the awards.

The Weeknd, one of the world’s biggest pop artists, received support from a number of fellow artists after being left out of the nominations, despite achieving the biggest-selling album of the year (After Hours).

He has since said he intends to boycott the Grammys from now on.

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“Because of the secret committees, I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys,” he said in a statement ahead of this year’s ceremony.

Mason Jr said the academy “might not get it right 100% of the time” but said it would stand up for “what is right and fight for greater diversity and more equal representation” in the music industry.

See the full list of Grammy 2021 winners here.

Additional reporting by Press Association