© Provided by INSIDERZayn Malik arrives at the 2018 Grammy Awards. Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images
- Zayn Malik slammed the Grammy Awards on Tuesday, four months after nominations were announced.
- He accused the voters of taking bribes: "Next year I'll send you a basket of confectionary."
- Malik's new album "Nobody Is Listening" was not eligible for Grammys consideration this year.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Zayn Malik slammed the Grammy Awards with a seemingly random tweet on Tuesday, nearly four months after the 2021 nominations were announced.
"F--- the grammys and everyone associated," he wrote. "Unless you shake hands and send gifts, there's no nomination considerations. Next year I'll send you a basket of confectionary."
It's unclear what prompted Malik's disparaging message, though he's hardly the first star to criticize the voting process.
Back in November, The Weeknd called the process "corrupt" and Halsey accused the Recording Academy of taking "bribes." Both musicians had released critically acclaimed albums in 2020, but neither received any nominations.
"Unfortunately, every year, there are fewer nominations than the number of deserving artists. But as the only peer-voted music award, we will continue to recognize and celebrate excellence in music while shining a light on the many amazing artists that make up our global community," Harvey Mason Jr., Recording Academy chair and interim president, told Insider at the time.
However, none of Malik's albums were eligible for consideration for the 2021 Grammy Awards.
The singer released his sophomore album "Icarus Falls" in December 2018, which would have made it eligible for last year's ceremony. He released his third album "Nobody Is Listening" in January 2021, making it eligible for next year's ceremony.
Malik's song "Better," the lead single for "Nobody Is Listening," was released on September 25, 2020 and also falls outside of the eligibility period, which ended on August 31, 2020.
Malik was previously nominated for a Grammy in 2018. His "Fifty Shades" collaboration for Taylor Swift, "I Don't Wanna Live Forever," was up for best song written for visual media; it lost to Lin-Manuel Miranda's "How Far I'll Go."
Malik's former group One Direction was never nominated for a Grammy, although his tweet may have accidentally insulted his former bandmate, Harry Styles.
Styles received three nominations this year: best music video for "Adore You," best pop vocal album for "Fine Line," and best pop solo performance for "Watermelon Sugar." He has also been confirmed as a performer at this year's ceremony, which will take place on Sunday.
A representative for Malik did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
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