Not so justified: Justin Timberlake’s Grammy snub

MANILA, Philippines - Justin Timberlake may have earned seven Grammy nominations, but he still has reason to cry himself a river: The pop star was shut out of the top Grammy categories — Album, Song and Record of the Year — though his comeback effort, The 20/20 Experience, is 2013’s best-selling release.

It might seem a bit much to call the second most nominated act at the Grammys snubbed, but it’s only fitting after Timberlake’s ultra-suc- cessful homecoming: The singer had back-to-back, multiplatinum hits with Suit & Tie and Mirrors, launched two successful tours and strategically mar- keted his return, including a full week in Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, deals with iTunes and Target, as well as two film releases.

His 20/20 album, which sold nearly a million discs in its debut week in March, has pushed 2.3 million units this year; the album’s sequel, which was met with mixed reviews, has moved more than 630,000 units since its Sept. 30 release.

Timberlake’s nominations include Best Pop Vocal Album, Pop Solo Per- formance for Mirrors and R&B song for Pusher Love Girl. He also shares four nominations with Jay Z — who is the Grammy leader with nine nomina- tions — for their hits Suit & Tie and Holy Grail.

While the rap icon is the frontrun- ner, he’s nominated twice in two categories, giving him a chance to bring home seven trophies, much like some rap newcomers who are hav- ing their Grammy breakthroughs: Kendrick Lamar, the critical darling who impressed on his own songs and by stealing thunder from others on their tracks, and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, the rap duo who blazed the pop charts with a same-sex anthem and a tune about used clothes.

Both hip-hop acts have seven nomina- tions, including the coveted Album of the Year and Best New Artist. Same Love, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ original first single which saw a re-release after the success of Thrift Shop and Can’t Hold Us, is nominated for Song of the Year.

For Album of the Year, the Seattle- based rap group’s independently- released debut, The Heist, will battle Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d city, Taylor Swift’s Red, Daft Punk’s Random Ac- cess Memories and Sara Bareilles’ The Blessed Unrest, the only album in the group to not reach gold status.

Bareilles, who got a boost this year after Katy Perry’s Roar had been criticized for sounding like the piano-playing singer’s Brave, will see her song battle Perry’s No. 1 hit in the Best Pop Solo category. Roar is also nominated for Song of the Year among three other No. 1 hits — Bruno Mars’ Locked Out of Heaven, Lorde’s Royals and Just Give Me a Reason by Pink and Nate Ruess. Macklemore & Lewis’ Same Love has peaked at No. 11 and is up for the top honor.