GRAMMYs boss Harvey Mason Jr. about Snubs Like Morgan Wallen

Morgan Wallen to get rejected from a GRAMMY had many people scratching their heads, including GRAMMYs boss Harvey Mason Jr.

In an interview with Variety after the GRAMMIE 2024 The nominations were announced on Friday, and the CEO of The Recording Academy shared his immediate reaction after one of the most commercially successful artists failed to get a nomination. And it wasn’t just Wallen. Fellow country superstar Luke Combs was also snubbed.

Call it a ‘sore spot’ Variety Mason asked if he ever said to himself, “Come on, do we have to be honest here?” when it seems as if there may be an intentional disapproval Wallen’s controversial past. Mason says he’s disappointed when it comes to criticism, but he also reminds fans that judging music is always subjective.

“I always believe that we have to be honest and we have to be fair — I think that goes without saying,” he told the outlet. “But music is subjective, and when you evaluate it, there’s a lot to it. Our voters, I believe, take that job very seriously. I think they’re doing a very good job overall, listening and making decisions. based on the music, but it’s subjective. And when it comes to snubs, it definitely disappoints me – I’m definitely influenced by it.”

If ET noted Right after the GRAMMY nominations were announced, Latin artists were also noticeably left out of the Big 4 General Field categories – Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best New Artist – much to the chagrin of many. .

Peso Pluma, for example, forced the music industry as a whole to pay attention to its rise earlier this year thanks to “Ella Baila Sola.” The track was at the top Billboard 100 chart this year, becoming the first regional Mexican song ever to do so. The 24-year-old’s catchy tune also earned the clear cut of officially becoming Spotify’s global Song of the Summer thanks to its whopping 367 million streams, but the native of Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico, was nowhere on the list of nominees for best new artists.

Ditto for Bad Bunny in the Album of the Year category, which prompts one writer to wonder if it might be time to consider that the Latin GRAMMYs’ recognition allows the Recording Academy to slacken a little when it comes to recognizing the success of Latin music in the mainstream.

“I know what it feels like to put your whole heart and soul into a project that you truly believe is the best work,” Mason said. “So it disappoints me. I always want to make sure we’re representative and accurate. But it’s very subjective.”

As for Wallen, the disapproval feels even more blatant One thing at a time — a 36-song blast about whiskey and women — still tops the list Billboard Country charts after 28 weeks. His single “Last Night” scored a nomination for Best Country Song, but that category honors the songwriters — John Byron, Ashley Gorley, Jacob Kasher Hindlin and Ryan Vojtesak — and not the artist.