Don’t be surprised when you notice that there’s a glaring omission on the nominee list for the upcoming Grammy Awards. Despite being eligible for nomination for his new album, Blonde, and possibly his visual album, Endless, Frank Ocean missed the September 30th cut off date for both projects, so he’s unable to be nominated for one of music’s most prestigious honors.
When we say Frank Ocean missed it, we really mean his team – his management actually decided not to include his music for consideration. It’s a strange decision and tough to understand why it’d be done deliberately, especially since Ocean is no stranger to getting Grammy Awards in the past. It’s a little comparable to Drake’s hit, “Hotline Bling,” and how it didn’t make the cut off date, either – but that was due to a “clerical error” and was not done on purpose.
Regardless, Blonde took the industry by storm when it cleverly arrived this past summer accompanied with its own magazine. Leading up to the record’s release was his visual album, Endless, and that’s where Grammy eligibility gets a little trickier. Though strictly-streaming albums can be eligible, the fact that the music is only part of a streaming video makes things unclear. Maybe Frank Ocean and his management just wanted to save the headaches for the people who would have to try to figure it out? Either way, don’t expect to see the singer taking home any awards at this year’s ceremony.