A Lesson in Grace For Tweens: Justin Bieber at The Grammys

With the blockbuster opening of his "Never Say Never" movie this weekend and coming off of a very successful My World tour, you'd think Justin Bieber has it made. He performed with his usual style at The Grammy's last night, and our tweens were excited to stay up late and watch the young star and Usher tear up the stage. Despite a sold out concert tour and indeterminable press, the young Mr. Bieber was not awarded his industry's highest honor.

At the tender age of 16, he could well have handled this news poorly, but Mr. Bieber instead took the high road and responded with maturity and grace. He continued to sit at attention in the front row of the Grammy Awards (no doubt the hot seat of the evening and the last place anyone would want to be seen after being so publicly overlooked for the honors) and applauded his fellow nominees, winners and performers. Justin Bieber has historically taken solace with his fans via interactions on Twitter, and notably, he did not turn to his Twitter account until after the awards ceremony was over.  It was a sign of professionalism and respect that he waited until the end of the show to interact with his fans and provide them with his reaction.

And his reaction was gracious and honest: he tweeted:

• "As for the awards...of course I wanted to win. Its been and still is a dream to win a grammy. Was I upset...yes. But I was happy for her also"
• "Someone said to me tonight its not your successes that define u but your failures. I lost..but I don't plan on this being my last chance...."
• "I do this because I love it..and I do it for my family friends and fans who support me. I was grateful for the honor and this..."
• "...Is just the beginning. #NeverSayNever" 
• "Now we have so much to celebrate!! Leggo!"

We were reminded of Taylor Swift's grace under pressure during the Kanye West VMA debacle and are pleased that his reaction lived up to his reputation. (Of course we'll NEVER hear the end of him now that his status as tween idol has been martyred, but we're pleased that thus far he's been a stand-up kind of guy.)

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