The Weeknd has accused the Grammys of being "corrupt" after being snubbed for the 2020 awards despite a stellar year.

(The New York Times)

Following the release of his hit album After Hours and the ubiquitous single Blinding Lights, which broke the record for the longest-running top five hit in US chart history, the Canadian star was predicted to feature in at least one or two categories.

However, the 30-year-old failed to pick up a single nomination for the awards, for which Beyonce is the frontrunner after being shortlisted in nine categories, including song and album of the year.

"The Grammys remain corrupt," The Weeknd tweeted after the nominations were announced. "You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency..."

According to Rolling Stone, a "source close to the situation" alleges the snub follows weeks of discussions about the star possibly performing at the ceremony in January and a "struggle" over him also playing the Super Bowl.

The criticism comes less than a year after the Recording Academy's ousted chief executive accused the group that determines nominations in the top categories of having conflicts of interest and not engaging in a transparent selection process.

Harvey Mason Jr, interim president and chief executive, released a statement following The Weeknd's post explaining that "unfortunately, every year, there are fewer nominations than the number of deserving artists".

(Lupni.com/Sky News)