When people inevitably decry how irrelevant the Grammys have become, please direct them to exhibit A: an Ariana Grande no-show.
The singer, who was set to perform during Sunday’s broadcast, has dropped out of the awards show altogether after a disagreement with producers over artistic control, according to a Variety report.
Grande apparently intended to perform her new single “7 Rings” at the 61st annual ceremony, which has advertised her appearance far and wide in the weeks leading up to the show, but she felt “insulted” when producers refused to let her play the song, unnamed sources told the outlet. Hits magazine was the first to break the news of Grande’s clash with Grammys producers over song selection.
After all parties later agreed to include the track off Grande’s upcoming album “thank u, next” as part of a medley, talks broke down once again when producers stipulated that the second song in her performance be up to their choosing.
Representatives for the Recording Academy and Grande did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
Other performers at the ceremony, including Camila Cabello, Miley Cyrus and Shawn Mendes, were subject to this kind of scrutiny, according to Variety.
Grande isn’t the first artist to come into conflict with Grammys producers. The Recording Academy reportedly wouldn’t allow Lorde to give a solo performance of a song off her nominated record “Melodrama” at last year’s ceremony despite giving a slot to all the male artists up for album of the year. Instead, producers reportedly offered the New Zealand singer a spot in a Tom Petty tribute, which she declined.
A Grande no-show isn’t exactly good business for the Grammys as she’s currently the reigning queen of the Billboard charts with the number one song in the country, “7 Rings” with “thank u, next” trailing not too far behind.
Grande is still, however, a dual nominee with nods for Best Pop Vocal Performance for the sultry banger “God Is a Woman” and Best Pop Vocal Album for “Sweetener,” which she dropped in the summer of 2018.
Luckily for music fans, the ceremony won’t be a pop drought thanks to Lady Gaga, who will reportedly take the stage for a performance.