Bruno Mars Withdraws Silk Sonic From Grammy Awards Consideration - Variety

Bruno Mars has announced that Silk Sonic — the R&B duo consisting of him and Anderson .Paak — person withdrawn their album “An Evening With Silk Sonic” from information for the 2023 Grammy Awards, helium told Rolling Stone.

“We genuinely enactment our each connected this record, but Silk Sonic would similar to gracefully, humbly and astir importantly, sexually, bow retired of submitting our medium this year,” Mars said. “We anticipation we tin observe with everyone connected a large twelvemonth of euphony and partake successful the party. Thank you for letting Silk Sonic thrive.”

The album’s pb single, “Leave the Door Open,” was released successful April of 2021 and won 4 Grammys for which it was nominated astatine the 2022 awards, including medium and azygous of the year. The medium was released past November and frankincense of past twelvemonth and is not lone eligible for 2023 awards, but was expected by astir each prognosticators to beryllium a apical contender for medium of the twelvemonth .

But Mars says, “we’d beryllium brainsick to inquire for thing more. Andy and I, and everyone that worked connected this project, won the infinitesimal the satellite responded to ‘Leave The Door Open.’ Everything other was conscionable icing connected the cake,” helium says. “We convey the Grammys for allowing america to execute connected their level — not erstwhile but doubly — and awarding america astatine past year’s ceremony.”

Grammy nominations bash not hap automatically: Recordings indispensable beryllium submitted by a representative, usually the artist’s grounds label, and if an creator does not privation their euphony considered, the statement simply doesn’t taxable it. 

It’s imaginable that Mars, an overwhelming Grammy favorite, whitethorn beryllium responding to disapproval the Grammys received successful 2018, erstwhile his “24K Magic” medium and related singles won each six categories it was nominated for including album, opus and grounds of the year, beating retired entries from the 2 biggest hip-hop artists successful the world, Jay-Z and Kendrick Lamar. That year, Jay was nominated for 8 awards and shockingly won none; Lamar won five, but each successful the hip-hop oregon video categories. Jay’s shutout successful peculiar led to a fierce backlash against the Grammys; aboriginal that year, Lamar’s “DAMN.” medium went connected to triumph a Nobel Prize.

It’s besides imaginable that Mars was cutting disconnected a imaginable backlash earlier it could begin: With some Lamar and Beyonce — not to notation Adele — front-runners for 2023 nominations, it could beryllium argued that Mars’ and Silk Sonic’s determination is simply a precise astute vocation move.

As a duo, Mars and .Paak performed “777” and “Hot Music” from the medium this year’s Grammy Awards, and besides performed a peculiar backstage afterparty wherever they performed mostly covers, including Eve’s “Let Me Blow Ya Mind,” Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” and Nelly’s “Hot In Herre.”

Artists specified arsenic Drake and the Weeknd person declined to taxable recordings that were apt to person nominations successful the past owed to unhappiness with past awards oregon nominations: Drake obliquely gave a crushed during a 2019 Grammy acceptance speech, saying “We play an opinion-based sport, not a fact-based sport,” presumably referencing the Grammys’ voting procedures, and the Weeknd did truthful to protestation the information that his blockbuster 2020 album, “After Hours,” and the azygous “Blinding Lights” — one of the astir fashionable songs of the past decennary — were shockingly snubbed by the Grammy nominating committees for the 2021 awards. Just weeks aft the show, the Grammys announced the elimination of the anonymous, insider committees that had antecedently determined the last nominees lists successful astir categories. Neither Drake nor the Weeknd submitted recordings for the 2022 awards.

A rep for the Grammys did not instantly respond to Variety‘s petition for comment.

Grammy nominations volition beryllium announced connected Tuesday, Nov. 15. The 65th yearly Grammy Awards instrumentality spot astatine the Crypto.com Arena successful Los Angeles connected Feb. 5, 2023.