The Weeknd has discussed further his snub from the 2021 Grammy awards, saying that it hit him like a “sucker punch”.

The artist, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, said the omission from the nominations list following the chart-topping success of his fourth album ‘After Hours‘ blindsided him because people kept telling him “this is your year”.

He told Billboard: “I use a sucker punch as an analogy. Because it just kind of hit me out of nowhere. I definitely felt… I felt things. I don’t know if it was sadness or anger. I think it was just confusion. I just wanted answers. Like, ‘What happened?’

“We did everything right, I think,” he continued. “I’m not a cocky person. I’m not arrogant. People told me I was going to get nominated. The world told me. Like, ‘This is it; this is your year.’ We were all very confused.”

Tesfaye added that he has now moved on from the incident. “I don’t want to make this about me. That’s just a fact”, before adding: “Look, I personally don’t care anymore…I suck at giving speeches anyways. Forget awards shows.”

Despite the snub, The Weeknd already has three Grammys under his belt. These are for Best Urban Contemporary Album in 2015 (for his second album ‘Beauty Behind The Madness’), for Best R&B Performance in 2016 for ‘Earned It’ (from the Fifty Shades Of Grey soundtrack) and Best Urban Contemporary Album for his third album ‘Starboy’ in 2018.

In other news, the artist is releasing a greatest hits album, ‘The Highlights’, next week. While he hasn’t officially announced the record himself, it’s available for pre-order on his official merch store.

‘The Highlights’ is set for release on February 5 and includes a number of The Weeknd’s biggest hits, including ‘Can’t Feel My Face’, ‘Starboy’ and ‘Blinding Lights’.