Frank Ocean public declared earlier last year that he would not be attending the 2017 Grammy Awards, and it seems like he won’t be alone in his decision. Drake will also reportedly be skipping the big night, along with Justin Bieber and Kayne West.
Despite having eight nominations this year, Drake is scheduled to perform in Manchester, England for his The Boy Meets World Tour on February 12 – the night of the Grammys (which will be held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.)
Also, TMZ is reporting that Justin Bieber and Kanye West, who have four and eight nominations each, respectively, are also considering skipping the show. Neither are in a direct protest of the show, but, according to TMZ, they both seem to feel that the Grammys aren’t “relevant or representative, especially when it comes to young singers.”
West said in the past that he would not be attending the ceremony if Frank Ocean’s Blonde was not nominated in any categories. “As artists, we’ve got to come together to fight the bullshit,” he said. While Ocean’s Blonde was not nominated for any categories, it was out of Ocean’s own doing. Ocean did not submit Blonde to be considered for any awards in a protest to The Recording Academy for their lack of recognition towards young, black artists.
