Justin Bieber Complains About Grammys Nominating Him In Pop Category Instead Of R&B
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News November 24, 2020 5:35 PM By James Rettig
Justin Bieber picked up four Grammy nominations this year: Best Pop Vocal Album for Changes, Best Pop Solo Performance for "Yummy," Best Pop/Duo Group Performance for the Quavo-featuring "Intentions," and Best Country Duo/Group Performance for his collab with Dan+Shay. But he's not happy that his latest music was categorized as pop by the Recording Academy.
In an Instagram post shared soon after the nominees were announced, he wrote: "I am very meticulous and intentional about my music. With that being said I set out to make an R&B album. Changes was and is an R&B album. It is not being acknowledged as an R&B album which is very strange to me."
I grew up admiring R&B music and wished to make a project that would embody that sound. For this not to be put into that category feels weird considering from the chords to the melodies to the vocal style all the way down to the hip hop drums that were chosen it is undeniably, unmistakably an R&B Album! To be clear I absolutely love Pop music it just wasn't what I set to make this time around. My gratitude for feeling respected for me work remains and I am honored to be nominated either way.
A post shared by Justin Bieber (@justinbieber)
Bieber is not the only artist who has taken to social media to take issue with the Academy. Teyana Taylor called out the Best R&B Album category for being exclusively male, and Nicki Minaj reflected on the time she lost out on Best New Artist, writing: "They gave it to the white man Bon Iver."
Y'all was better off just saying best MALE R&B ALBUM cause all I see is dick in this category. https://t.co/LlL769FbTR
— TEYANA M.J. SHUMPERT (@TEYANATAYLOR) November 24, 2020
Never forget the Grammys didn't give me my best new artist award when I had 7 songs simultaneously charting on billboard & bigger first week than any female rapper in the last decade- went on to inspire a generation. They gave it to the white man Bon Iver. #PinkFriday
— Mrs. Petty (@NICKIMINAJ) November 24, 2020