In a response to Morgan Wallen omitted from the 2024 nominations, Grammy president Harvey Mason Jr stated that he is “disappointed.”
When one of the biggest-selling musicians in the United States failed to secure a single shortlist vote when the nominees were announced Friday on (11.10,) the Recording Academy CEO insisted the omission was not a response to the star’s conduct.
Admitting that he’s always concerned when someone he believes is deserving misses out, Harvey told Variety: “Another sore spot: Morgan Wallen, one of the most commercially successful and controversial artists in the past year, was shut out again. Whenever it seems like there could be a deliberate snub, as the leader of the organization, do you sometimes feel you have to say, ‘Come on, we have to be fair here’? “Well, I always believe that we’ve got to be fair and we have to be honest — I think that goes without saying. But music is subjective, and when you’re evaluating it, a lot goes into that. “Our voters, I believe, take the task very seriously. I think they generally do a really good job, doing the work of listening and making decisions based on the music, but it is subjective.” “And when it comes to snubs, it absolutely disappoints me — I’m affected by it, for sure, because I’m a creator and a musician. “And I know what it feels like to put all your heart and your soul into a project that you really believe that you believe is the best work.” “So it disappoints me, I always want to make sure we’re being representative and we’re being accurate. But it’s very subjective.”
Particularly pleased with the amount of female artists nominated across the different categories this year, Mason added “I have to say that this representation for female artists is not only exciting, but also [impressive] because so many different genres are being represented across our ballot.”
Referring to artists, such as Olivia Rodrigo, who was included in the rock and pop categories, are nominated in multiple categories, he added: “That shows that people are voting for the music as opposed to voting for people. “The people in those genres’ [screening committees] are really experts, listening closely and evaluating the music. So if an artist has nominations across different genres, that means the people that work in those fields really respect it.”
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Author: Saul Goode
Photo: U.S. Army photo by Spc. Robert Vicens – Public Domain