There’s a simple reason why Drake’s 2015 megahit Hotline Bling didn’t receive any Grammy nominations for February 2016’s 58th annual music awards: it wasn’t submitted for consideration.
Music industry website Hits Daily Double claims the mistake was “due to a clerical error on the part of label Cash Money,” and notes that the song likely would’ve been nominated for multiple awards.
The single reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 (behind Adele’s Hello), and has since been covered by a variety of artists including a collaboration between Disclosure and Sam Smith on BBC Radio 1. And the video, which has racked up over 185 million views on YouTube, helped make it one of the most well-known songs of the year.
The video (for those few who’ve yet to see it) is a relatively simple shoot with Drake slow-dancing by himself in white rooms lit up with color. It’s received many parodies since its debut, including a popular SNL skit noting that dads, teachers, tax guys, and Martin Short’s character Ed Grimley all dance like the popular rapper.
Regardless of his label’s rather embarrassing error, Drake did end up receiving five Grammy nominations in other categories, including nominations for best rap album for his chart-topping fourth record If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, and best rap song for Energy. He also released a chart-topping mixtape with Atlanta rapper Future, called What A Time to Be Alive, in September. The Canadian rapper was recently named Spotify’s most-streamed artist of the year, racking up 1.8 billion streams from 46 million listeners in 2015.
Cash Money, owned by rapper Birdman, has also had some trouble with one of its other major acts: Lil Wayne. Earlier this year, Wayne sued the label for $51 million because the label “withheld key accounting documents from [him],” according to Rolling Stone.
