No ‘Hotline Bling’ Grammy Win For Drake

Drake’s “Hotline Bling” has consistently been one of 2015’s hottest and most remixed songs since its release. Digitally released as a single during the summer on July 31, It quickly becme Drake’s first top-10 single in two years. The song only continued to blow up when the music video was released in October, as the internet was ablaze with gifs of Drake dancing in empty rooms with colorful lighting. But as much success as the song and video has seen, it looks like Drake’s mega-popular single will be missing out on a Grammy nomination in 2016.

When the 2016 Grammy nominations were revealed earlier this week on Monday, “Hotline Bling” was nowhere to be found on the list. According to Forbes, the song was never sent to the Recording Academy for award consideration. Cash Money Records, Inc. failed to send in the R&B song as a Grammy submission due to a “clerical error,” Hits Double Daily reports. Is it possible that this has anything to do with the fallout between Drake and Lil Wayne? If so, it may be possible that label owner Birdman purposefully missed the window to send in the song for consideration just to spite Wayne, but nothing has officially confirmed that that’s the case.

Drake noted his accomplishment on his Instagram page when the song jumped up to the No. 2 position on the Billboard 200, still hoping for the No. 1 spot.

“I spend my life trying to make waves for the city I am from. No accolades really matter to me other than the fact that I have never had a billboard number one. If I get my first number one during the month of October it will be the biggest moment of my career to date (in my mind) and if you are looking for me on that particular evening I will be passed out in the water slide that connects to our pool. I love you and thank you for these memories. I always love the moment right before it happens more than when it actually happens. So thank you… even if it doesn’t.”

Regardless of the “Hotline Bling” error, Drake was still able to pull in five Grammy nominations, including Best Rap Album for If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, Best Rap Song for “Energy,” as well as Best Rap Performance for his Meek Mill diss track, “Back to Back.”

“Hotline Bling” debuted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart on August 22, 2015, at the No. 66 spot. It earned its spot on the chart largely because of digital download sales, with 41,000 copies sold in the song’s first week of release. “Hotline Bling” peaked at No. 2 for five weeks in a row, right behind The Weeknd’s “The Hills” and Adele’s record smashing single, “Hello.” As of November, 2015, “Hotline Bling” has sold 1,335,000 copies in the U.S.

In the United Kingdom, “Hotline Bling” peaked at No. 3 on the U.K. Singles Chart, which made it Drake’s highest-charting song in Britain as a lead artist, as well as peaking on top of the U.K. R&B Chart. On November 27, 2015, “Hotline Bling” earned gold certification by the British Phonographic Industry. The R&B song has also been covered and remixed by several different artists, including Erykah Badu, Justin Bieber, as well as British recording artists Disclosure and Sam Smith.

The song even received some criticism upon its release, with critics noting what they see as sexism. Tahirah Hairston of Fusion wrote, “Drake is distraught that his ex has moved on, and instead of admitting he’s kind of obsessed and therefore Instagram stalking, he opts for condescendingly slut-shaming her, and dictating where she does and doesn’t belong. The song comes off so petty that you forget his feelings are hurt.”

[Image via YouTube/Cash Money/Republic]