Dear Beliebers (and His Manager), Justin Bieber Was Not Snubbed By The Grammys, and Here's Why

Was Justin Bieber paid dust
by the Grammys?

Last night, the 2013 Grammy nominations were announced, with notable mentions of Frank Ocean, Fun., Miguel, Kelly Clarkson, or more.

Of course, with everyone who is nominated for the most prestigious music awards on the planet, there are people who are snubbed.

One of the most obvious absences from the nominee list is Justin Bieber, who released his third album Believe this past year to considerable first week sales and two huge hits, "Boyfriend" and "As Long As You Love Me". Bieber's absence from the Grammys has led his fans into a virtual maelstrom via Twitter. Even Scooter Braun, Bieber's manager, took to Twitter to criticize the Grammy board for snubbing the teenager.

Newsflash, though: he wasn't snubbed. Bieber didn't deserve a Grammy nod this year.

While Justin Bieber received credit from critics for attempting to mature his sound, Believe is nothing more than a decent pop album in a year filled with them. Braun argued that Bieber really worked hard on this album, but a lot of artists work hard, and have produced much stronger efforts. "Boyfriend" has some of the most eye-rolling lyrics in recent pop memory, while "As Long As You Love Me" is standard dubstep-lite fare. Nothing on the album was terribly exciting or pushed any musical boundaries for the year. For example, Bieber's mentor Usher scored a nomination for "Climax", one of the most interesting R&B singles he has ever released. Although it was predictable, Katy Perry's "Wide Awake" is one of the strongest pop ballads of the year. And then there is labelmate Carly Rae Jepsen, who released not only the year's most inescapable hit, but also one of the most charming. Sorry, but there is nothing charming about sitting by the fire, eating fondue.

Then there is his public behavior, which has a lot more weight than you would expect. I'm sure the Grammy committee wouldn't take kindly to an artist who wouldn't even change his clothes to meet the head of state of his own country. Although certainly not the defining factor, the committee takes notice of an artist's behavior. Essentially, he needs to stop acting like a brat.

At the end of the day, there was nothing about Believe that would justify it replacing any of the other nominees. He may have worked hard on it, but that doesn't guarantee a nod, especially if the material just isn't strong enough. Bieber just needs to take stock in the fact that he has indeed been a Grammy nominee before.

Better luck next time.