The Weeknd‘s fans have suggested that the singer is throwing subtle shade at the Grammys in his new ‘Save Your Tears‘ video after he failed to secure a single nomination at this year’s awards.
The singer’s omission for his 2020 album ‘After Hours’ proved to be one of the major talking points following the nominations announcement last November, with both Drake and Elton John questioning the singer’s absence.
And in the bizarre new clip for the singer’s latest single, he continues the storyline set out by previous videos from ‘After Hours’.
While recent performances have seen The Weeknd sporting bandages, the ‘Save Your Tears’ video reveals the grotesque results of reconstructive surgery – but fans say that the Grammys shade is also contained within the clip.
At one point, he is seen attending a creepy masquerade ball with attendees wearing elaborate masks, which fans on Twitter have suggested is a reference to “fake” celebrities attending awards shows.
He is also seen holding a gold trophy at the 1:50 mark.
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“I broke your heart like someone did to mine / And now you won’t love me for a second time,” he sings before he throws the award away.
The grotesque face, meanwhile, is said to reflect music industry pressures to be “perfect”, although the singer has not confirmed any of the theories.
“I think Abel is showing us how constantly pressured he feels to be ‘perfect’ by the industry, Grammys etc so now he got that botched up face and I think at some point he will have an alone again mv where he takes it off and learns to love himself for who he is,” wrote one fan.
Reacting to the snub in November 2020, The Weekend tweeted that the Grammys “remain corrupt”, adding: “You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency.”
It was a distinctly different outcome compared to the recent American Music Awards, where Abel Tesfaye walked away with three trophies, including Favourite Male Artist, Favourite Album and Favourite Song in the Soul/R&B categories.