More so than perhaps any year in recent memory, the new list of Grammy nominations is facing a boatload of criticism. Also more so than in recent years, the Recording Academy has actually offered responses to some of these criticisms. Interim president/CEO Harvey Mason Jr. spoke about The Weeknd and Harry Styles’ snubs, and now he has addressed Justin Bieber’s concerns about his nominations.
Bieber racked up some nominations in the pop categories, but he considered his work to be R&B. He expressed complaints about the nominations, which Mason addressed in a new interview with Pitchfork, saying:
“We always want to respect the artist’s wishes. Art’s a funny thing because it’s so subjective, and at the Academy our goal is to honor excellence. At some point, decisions have to be made as to how to compare different things, and it is a very tough process and one I don’t think we get right every time. We use our best efforts to get people where they wanna be and where they should be and try to evaluate them as best as we can. If he felt that was that type of a record, then, you know… I’ll just leave it at that. We try really hard to make sure people’s art is respected and evaluated in the right category.”
Read the full interview here and find the full list of this year’s Grammy nominees here.
