Common, Kid Cudi, and The Weeknd have entered the Emmy Awards musical gauntlet, going head-to-head as ballots for the 2023 nominations are out.
According to Variety, The Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye) is listed among 19 entries in the Music Direction category. The multi-hyphenate submitted his HBO special, The Weeknd Live at Sofi Stadium, which aired back in February.
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If nominated, The Idol star and creator will likely complete with past winners like Adam Blackstone (entered for the Super Bowl LVII Half-time Show, “Rock & Roll Hall of Fame” ceremony and Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty Show) along with bass player Rickey Minor (The Oscars).
Also entering the ring is rapper and actor Kid Cudi from Netflix’s Entergalactic and Donald Glover from Prime Video’s dark comedy, Swarm. They’ll go toe-to-toe with Al Yankovic for Roku’s Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, Steve Martin for Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building, Lainey Wilson for Paramount’s Yellowstone, David Byrne for Netflix’s John Mulaney: Baby J, and Ryan Tedder for Peacock’s Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin.
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Meanwhile, Common joins 158 entries for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series for his contributions to Netflix’s Mo. The Chicago native joins the likes of P.J. Harvey for Apple TV+’s Bad Sisters, Meshell Ndegeocello for Starz’s BMF, T Bone Burnett for FX’s The Old Man and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis for Hulu’s Unprisoned, starring Kerry Washington and Delroy Lindo.
It’s worth noting, that in 2017, Common accomplished an unprecedented feat when he nabbed an Emmy for his socially conscious track “Letter to the Free” — making him the first rapper to ever win an Emmy, Grammy and Oscar.
“I want to thank God first and foremost,” the Chicago rapper told Deadline at the time. “Any time I get a chance to work with Ava DuVernay it leads to something positive, something strong.”
His impressive run began when he scored a Grammy for his 2002 collaboration with Erykah Badu titled, “Love of My Life.” Then, in 2015, Common swerved into Oscar territory when he sealed a trophy for “Glory” featuring John Legend.
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Should Kid Cudi and The Weeknd snag a nod in their categories, it will be a first for the duo.
The 75th Primetime Emmy Awards are scheduled to take place on Monday, September 18 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT
