Zach Bryan is withholding his music from Grammys consideration.
The 28-year-old star has enjoyed huge success with his songs but he has declined to submit his work for consideration in any category for the upcoming ceremony, Variety has revealed.
An online ballot, available only to Recording Academy members, confirmed Zach’s name doesn’t appear among the thousands being considered for Record of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year, and none of his records are entered for any of the rock, country or Americana categories where he would have been expected to compete.
Insiders told the outlet the ‘Hey Driver’ hitmaker chose not to submit this year because he doesn’t feel comfortable with awards shows making music competitive.
This echoes Zach’s previous attempts to resist the mechanics of the music industry, having already asked his record label not to promote his songs in any format.
However, he has been in awards consideration before and won his first Grammy earlier this year, taking Best Country Duo/ Group performance for ‘I Remember Everything’ with Kacey Musgraves.
Zach joins the likes of Drake and The Weeknd in boycotting the event.
The former refused to have his work considered by the Recording Academy in both 2021 and 2022.
Drake said: “This show doesn’t dictate s*** in our world“.”
Meanwhile, The Weeknd has stayed clear of the ceremony since his hugely popular album ‘After Hours’ and single ‘Blinding Lights’ were noticeably snubbed from the 2021 nominations list.
At the time, he branded the Grammy Awards “corrupt”.
He tweeted: “The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency…”
Awards bosses played down suggestions of a deliberate slight.
Recording Academy Chair Harvey Mason Jr. said: “We understand that the Weeknd is disappointed at not being nominated. I was surprised and can empathise with what he’s feeling.
“His music this year was excellent, and his contributions to the music community and broader world are worthy of everyone’s admiration. Unfortunately, every year, there are fewer nominations than the number of deserving artists.
“All Grammy nominees are recognised by the voting body for their excellence, and we congratulate them all.”
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