Simon Cowell: 'Justin Bieber deserved a Grammy nomination'

Music mogul Simon Cowell has accused Grammy Awards bosses of snobbery for failing to nominate teenage pop star Justin Bieber for the upcoming prize-giving.

The Baby hitmaker, who previously scored two nods at the 2011 ceremony, was omitted from the 2013 nominations list when it was announced on Wednesday night (05Dec12), with fun., Frank Ocean and The Black Keys leading the pack.

Bieber's manager, Scooter Braun, was furious when it became clear the singer had not been recognized and blasted organisers in a series of angry messages on Twitter.com, raging: "Grammy board u (sic) blew it on this one. The hardest thing to do is transition, keep the train moving. The kid delivered. Huge successful album, sold out tour, and won people over... this time he deserved to be recognized."

Music mogul Cowell has now waded into the debate and called Grammy bosses out for shunning Bieber.

He tells TMZ.com, "You know what? He deserved one (a nomination), I think. But they can get a bit snobby sometimes."

However, Cowell is convinced Bieber won't be too worried about the snub, adding, "He won't be crying too much. He's doing fine."

The Grammy Awards will be handed out in Los Angeles on 10 February (13).