Grappling With Personanon-grata Grammy Contenders

How do you solve a problem like Morgan Wallen? Voters consider whether to count his, Dababy’s and Dr. Luke’s sins against them

The fate of artists

deemed problematic will be one of the talking points when noms are announced. These carry asterisks.

Morgan Wallen:

The country star became a household name for all the wrong reasons when a video of him uttering a racial slur during a drunken exchange with friends was made public Feb. ‘. Wallen was removed from the playlists of most country radio stations for months and barred from competing or appearing on several country or mainstream awards shows — moves that did nothing to diminish the commercial success of what still stands as the most-consumed album of the year in any format — racking up more than ‘.˜ million album-equivalent units. The Country Music Assn. Awards has sent mixed messages: “Dangerous” is nominated for album of the year, but Wallen has been barred from

attending — so there might not be much appetite for the Grammys as his official coming-out party.

Dababy:

He faced battery charges in ‘š‘š and made homophobic remarks in July while performing at Rolling Loud Miami. The industry’s response was swift: Dababy lost sponsorship deals and was summarily uninvited from many summer festivals including Governors Ball, Parklife and iheartradio. That would usually make the rapper’s chances of Grammy love minimal, but his feature on Dua Lipa’s “Levitating” remix, the version that accumulated the most radio airplay and streaming of the year, puts voters in a hard spot.

Kanye West:

Already a polarizing figure due to his political views, West didn’t exactly endear himself to the Recording Academy when he tweeted a video urinating

on a Grammy in September ‘š‘š. Still, he was rewarded with a trophy earlier this year for contempo Christian music album for “Jesus Is King.” Although it received mixed notices, ‘š‘›’s “Donda” was lavished with enough praise for its personal exploration of mental health, religion, death, relationships and addiction that it would’ve been expected to contend for multiple Grammys ... if not for featuring fellow “problematic” artists Dababy and Marilyn Manson.

Dr. Luke:

The veteran hitmaker, who was accused of sexual assault by Kesha before charges were dismissed in April ‘š›œ (legal disputes between the two continue), scored a nom for ‘š‘› record of the year courtesy of Doja Cat’s “Say So.” With Doja rising even higher, Dr. Luke stands a strong chance of landing in the top categories.

Controversial remarks made by Morgan Wallen and Dababy could knock the commercially successful artists out of contention.