Victor Willis, the cop in the legendary disco group, reveals it is passing on the invitation because the Hall of Fame is 'lacking' and is 'not taken seriously by the Recording Academy.'
- Mar 25, 2021
AceShowbiz - Village People was supposed to be one of the inductees for the 2021 Grammy Hall of Fame. The founder of the legendary disco group, Victor Willis, revealed that the band declined the recent induction of its biggest hit, "Y.M.C.A.".
In an interview with TMZ, the 69-year-old singer divulged that his group passed on the invitation because the Hall of Fame is "lacking" and is "not taken seriously by the Recording Academy." He then claimed that inductees into the Grammy Hall of Fame are not mentioned during the annual awards show and even there is no induction ceremony.
Victor made it clear that he and other members of Village People have no interest in the Hall of Fame until the Grammys "get their act together." He also pointed out that the band, who will release a new album later this year, is not planning to submit the album for Grammy consideration. He additionally urged the Recording Academy officials to "show respect for classic artists who built the recording business."
This was not the first time Victor called out the Grammys. Back in 2017, he accused the award show of having a secret committee to override votes for black artists. In an open letter he sent to former chairman and CEO of the Recording Academy, Neil Portnow, he alleged that "the Grammys instituted a special select committee to override the decision of Grammy voters in the event the select committee does not like who the Grammy voter has chosen."
"If certain people at the Grammys don't like who the voters have chosen, a Grammy committee will simply override the voters and subsequently select who they think should win. Like Adele, maybe?" he went on. "Why won't you reveal this secret committee to the public and exactly who's on it? The question is how many African Americans are on that committee? You ought to come clean."
