Drake Victorious at 2023 Grammys Even Though He Didn’t Submit His Work for Awards

Drake doesn’t love the Grammys but they love him — the rapper won an award at the 2023 Grammys even though he decided not to submit his latest album for awards .

Drake won best melodic rap performance for his guest appearance on Future ’s “Wait for U,” which became No. 1 pop hit and also features Afrobeats star Tems . “Wait for U” appears on Future’s album, I Never Liked You .

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Drake walked into Sunday’s show with four nominations. Drake was a double nominee in best rap song — for “Wait for U” and for co-writing Jack Harlow’s “Churchill Downs” — but lost to Kendrick Lamar’s “The Heart Part 5.” Drake is also nominated for album of the year since he co-wrote “Heated” on Beyoncé’s Renaissance .

Drake decided not to submit his latest album, the house-heavy Honestly, Nevermind , or any of its singles, including the hits “Jimmy Crooks,” “Sticky” and “Massive,” for Grammys. The five-time Grammy winner has criticized the awards show over the years and even withdrew his two nominations for the 2022 awards.

His fight with the Grammys followed The Weeknd ’s issues with the awards show. The Weeknd vowed to boycott the Grammys after he failed to garner nominations for his multi-hit album After Hours and the massive hit “Blinding Lights” at the 2021 show. But he still competed at the 2022 Grammys thanks to his guest appearances on albums by Kanye West and Doja Cat, and eventually won the same category Drake won — best melodic rap performance for “Hurricane” with West.

The Weeknd, a three-time Grammy winner, continued his boycott this year and did not submit his latest album, Dawn FM , for contention.

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