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Grammy Nominations Announced and None for Justin Bieber

by Brandon Woo - Churchill Secondary, Vancouver BC Dec 11, 2012

Justin Bieber shut out of Grammy nods.


When Taylor Swift and LL Cool J announced the list of nominees for the 55th Annual Grammy Awards (February 10, 2013) at the Grammy Nomination Concert last week, Justin Bieber didn’t receive a single nomination. Bieber's manager, Scooter Braun, found this news shocking and turned to Twitter to share his disappointment.

I find that Braun’s reasoning is flawed. Although Braun tweeted that Justin Bieber, “deserve[s] to be recognized,” his reasons are: Bieber’s “[h]uge successful album,” Bieber’s “successful tour,” the idea that Bieber “won people all over” (hyperbole), and the idea that Bieber has “worked hard.” If these are Braun’s only reasons, then Braun and Bieber should look to another award show for some recognition.

Have a look at what S. A. Sebastian - a musician who’s part of the group that chooses the nominees for the Grammy Awards - has to say about the criteria that they use to choose the nominees:

“With few exceptions, the Grammys are awarded based on performance, production and technical merit with a couple of awards going to songwriters. The Grammys are not like the People’s Choice Awards, where fan favorites should win, only the technical best should win.”

The fact that Justin Bieber’s album was a huge success doesn’t matter. The fact that Justin Bieber’s tour was a huge success doesn’t matter. The Grammy Awards Board doesn’t really care that there’s a large group of pre-teen girls who love Justin Bieber’s songs. The Grammy Awards board cares about quality. Hard work, unfortunately for Bieber and Braun, does not always translate to quality.

Do you think Justin Bieber should have received a Grammy nomination? If so, please answer the question that Braun did not: to what extent are Justin Bieber’s songs works of quality?

Comments (6)
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I Agree

Submitted by KiwiPaton on Mon, 02/11/2013 - 16:02.

Bieber does not deserve to win such a top rated award. There are much more deserving people out there who work so much harder than he does. He is still only a teenager and there are musicians and artists out there that have worked so much harder their entire lives to get where they are today. Those are the people who really deserve to win a Grammy and that is what happened this year.

Sucks to be Beiber

Submitted by MirandaArnelle on Mon, 01/28/2013 - 14:57.

All I can really say is work harder, it doesn't matter if you impress a bunch of teen girls, that's a majority of who he reaches out to. He needs to impress more than just a big group of little girls to get a nomination. Half the time they just like him for his looks and his not so good lyrics.. No offense..

Bieber With No More Fever

Submitted by lexie.brenneis on Mon, 01/28/2013 - 11:50.

I believe the correct term is that Bieber WAS quality.

Bieber has truly lost his place; lost his spark and lost the love of many people. While other artists are through the roof with their records, Bieber manages to pull a few highlights of each album and that is really all. His work is flat lining, while others are inclining. If Bieber expects his reputation to stay for the long run, then his "hard work" better show quality as well.

Better Luck Next Time

Submitted by alexau on Mon, 01/07/2013 - 11:09.

Although I do not have "Bieber Fever," the young pop star is talented. But his main stream album lacks a unique quality that is Grammy worthy.

Bieber may be lost in his adoring fans and forgotten about the quality of his music. Everyone falls in life, but one year without a nomination should not be a reason for your manager to express his disappointment with the Grammy Awards board so publicly. Maybe this fall will teach Bieber to focus on his quality of music and work harder for that nomination next year.

#BieberForGrammys

Submitted by Char13 on Mon, 02/04/2013 - 11:03.

Uhm, why don't you guys listen to his new "Believe Acoustic" album? I do understand that maybe it is too early for Justin to win a Grammy, but he's worked harder than anyone else in the industry right now. He puts his heart and soul into each song that he makes. Yeah, the song topics are about falling for someone or being with someone or just plain old love, but what else is a 19 year old supposed to write about? Everyone falls, it only makes the person stronger and better the next time. Justin will get there; he's just getting started.

#NoBieberNoGrammys

Submitted by 842x604 on Tue, 12/11/2012 - 21:53.

You can tell that Bieber's compositions are works of quality through the number of awards he has won for his album, Believe. He wouldn't have received those awards if his songs weren't good. Just because you and the Grammy board thinks his songs aren't "works of quality," doesn't mean that they aren't. Besides, the Grammys have "blanched at rewarding pop figures early in their careers in spite of their international stardom" (Billboard), including Madonna in 1998 and Britney Spears in 2005. The Grammys are not good judges of music.

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