Are Grammy voters true Beliebers?
Has Justin Bieber officially made the jump from troubled young pop star to industry-respected artist?
That’s one take-away from the 2017 Grammy nominations. The Stratford, Ont.-born former YouTube sensation walked away with four nominations and landed a spot in the most prestigious category: album of the year. Purpose will go up against works from Beyoncé, Adele, Drake and Sturgill Simpson.
Purpose (also nominated for pop vocal album) has spawned four chart-topping songs, including the snarky smash Love Yourself, co-written by Ed Sheeran and Benjamin Levin, which garnered nods for song of the year and pop solo performance.
This is a huge deal for Bieber, who won his first Grammy last year (best dance recording) for Where Are Ü Now, the debut single from Purpose. He was nominated twice in 2011 for best new artist and best pop vocal album, but lost to Esperanza Spalding and Lady Gaga, respectively.
Now, a solid list of nominations seems like a signal to start taking the 22-year-old seriously as an artist — even though he’s been a walking tabloid punchline for years thanks to his scandals and many legal issues, from a DUI to the egg-throwing incident.
Since he’s stayed out of trouble for awhile, it appears Grammy voters are ready to accept him as one of the industry’s established stars, especially as his music evolves.
Despite Bieber not making headlines for getting into fights with Orlando Bloom anymore, he’s still acting erratic. This fall, he snapped at fans, walked off stage when they were screaming too loudly during concerts, and just last week, punched a Belieber in the face.
So while the music industry might be on Team Bieber as long as he keeps scoring hits, his own behaviour still threatens to stand in his way.