Why is Justin Bieber Nominated for a BET Award?

Teen pop star Justin Bieber is many things: A pop music sensation, a teen idol, a rising star within the music industry. One thing he is most certainly not is African-American.

Yet, the 16-year-old Canadian is among the nominees for the 2010 Black Entertainment Television Awards. Bieber is up for Best New Artist, along with Melanie Fiona, Nicki Minaj, Wale, and Young Money.

Why is Justin Bieber nominated for a BET Award? Here's what the award show spokesman has to say, followed by my opinion on the real, more nefarious reason why Bieber is nominated. Hint: The answer is found in Ke$ha's name.

Why is Justin Bieber nominated for a BET Award: Award spokesman comments

According to Yahoo, Stephen Hill, BET's President of Music Programing and Specials, had this incredibly lame explanation for Bieber's presence on the nomination list.

"He's had rhythm in his music," said Hill. "He makes the type of music our audience likes."

If the BET Awards had a history of rewarding non-black performers, this argument might fly. But there's no such history. Eminem has been entertaining millions of African-American fans for years and has collaborated with megastar black artists like Kanye West, Dr. Dre and Lil Wayne. Yet his success at the BET Awards is virtually nil (though, like Bieber, he scored one nomination this year.)

Hill's other explanation was slightly more logical: "Bieber has crossed the color boundaries the same way that hip-hop has crossed the boundaries the other way for a number of years."

Why is Justin Bieber nominated for a BET Award: The real reason

The real reason Bieber was nominated? Money, plain and simple. Bieber's millions of teenage followers are a marketing goldmine, and BET knows it. It's the same reason the American Music Awards nominated Michael Jackson for numerous awards last year even though he hadn't released any new music. They wanted his fans to watch the show.

Similarly, BET knows that if Bieber is nominated - and especially if he shows up at the ceremony, which he'll probably be under significant pressure to do - his millions of fans will be glued to their TV sets to watch the awards ceremony. That's all BET cares about here.

It's true that Bieber was discovered by Usher, who has a long history with the BET Awards. But Hill made no mention of that during his defense of Bieber's nomination. So this is clearly just about ratings and money.

It's a shame that award shows are no longer about who's most deserving. They've now become about who can bring in the most viewers.

Why is Justin Bieber nominated for a BET Award: Summary

Regardless of their motives, the BET Awards are certain to benefit from Bieber's presence. This story already has people talking about the BET Awards, and that alone is an accomplishment.

The BET Awards take place on June 27 in Los Angeles.

Why is Justin Bieber nominated for a BET Award: Sources

http://new.music.yahoo.com/justin-bieber/news/justin-bieber-among-black-entertainment-nominees--62001833

http://www.bet.com/Music/news/Drakejayzandnickileadnominees_musicnews_05.18.10.htm