Elton John backs The Weeknd over Grammys snub

Elton John has thrown his support behind The Weeknd after the singer claimed he had been snubbed by the Grammy Awards.

The US musician, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, has the year's best-selling record in the US with his album After Hours. The 30-year-old called the awards ceremony "corrupt" when his material wasn't listed among the nominees.

Posting a photo of the cover art for The Weeknd's Blinding Lights to Instagram, John wrote: "In my humble opinion......Blinding Lights Song of the Year 🙌 Record of the Year 🙌 @theweeknd #GrammySnub."

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The 73-year-old has previously expressed his admiration for The Hills hitmaker, who sampled John’s Your Song in his After Hours cut.

He told Billboard back in March: "I love him. I always have done and you can tell by the videos for the new album as well that it's kind of ... 'Blinding Lights' is such an 80's-type record and it hits the nail on the head so perfectly, blending it with Abel's sound."

Watch: The Weeknd slams ‘corrupt’ Grammys

On Tuesday, The Weeknd shared a message to Instagram reading: "The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency."

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In a separate post the following day the artist said he had gone from planning a performance at the event to not being invited.

"Collaboratively planning a performance for weeks to not being invited? In my opinion zero nominations = you’re not invited!" he wrote.

Variety reports he was involved in some difficult negotiations to perform at the Grammys, as he'd also been offered the Super Bowl halftime show which takes place the following week.

The publication states it was agreed he could do both, only for him to not be nominated at all.

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