The Weeknd Didn't Get A 2017 Grammys Nom

It's that time of year again, guys, and you know what that means: the 2017 Grammy Award nominations have been announced. With them comes the annual debate regarding which names have definitely earned their nominations and which have been woefully neglected from inclusion. Though I could spend all day ruminating on this topic (and ,honestly, does it really matter so much when we all know the multi-nominated Adele is likely going to win everything, anyway?), there's one missing name which may have definitely puzzled you. And seriously, why wasn't The Weeknd nominated for a 2017 Grammy award? Starboy is definitely an album worthy of the accolades, after all.

Well, whether we happen to think so or not, there's actually a totally fair reason as to why The Weeknd wasn't nominated for a 2017 Grammy Award. In order to be eligible to win one of the awards, a song or an album considered for it has to have been released between Oct. 1, 2015 and Sept. 30, 2016. And, sadly, as Starboy was released on Nov. 25 of this year, it means that it just missed the deadline date for consideration. Though the song "Starboy" came out within the eligibility date, on September 22, it faced very stiff competition. At best, The Weeknd got a nod as one of the many artists who collaborated with Beyoncé on Lemonade, but that's it.

The Weeknd, however, isn't the only surprising artist absent from this years best album Grammy nominations due to ineligibility. Lady Gaga's stridently powerful album Joanne also happened to just miss the cutoff date having been released on Oct. 21, as did Bruno Mars' 24K Magic which was released on Nov. 18. Meanwhile, both Frank Ocean's astounding visual album, Endless and the eagerly awaited Blonde are also ineligible for consideration. In Ocean's case, however, both albums were released ahead of the cutoff date, but, according to Billboard, were consciously not submitted by Ocean or any representative of his music.

In the case of Joanne, 24k Magic and Starboy, the timing of each project's release in prohibiting their eligibility for a Grammy award nomination is truly disappointing, as all of them are clearly projects worthy of winning. Like Joanne, Starboy shows an artist pushing their musical style beyond the parameters of their comfort zone, resulting in an album rich with confidence and the swaggering foresight of experimentation.

Featuring guest artists as varied as Daft Punk, Lana Del Rey, Kendrick Lamar and Future, Starboy can be audacious in it's genre splicing whilst rooting itself within a core, distinctive sound which is all The Weeknd. And that's an impressive feat for any musician to accomplish.

As a result, Starboy is certainly an album worthy of acclaim and professional recognition from the industry. And though it's definitely too early to call at this stage, don't be surprised if Starboy receives the Grammy nominations it well and truly deserves when the 2018 awards get announced next year.