Justin Bieber skipped the Grammy Awards to spend time with his friends.

Justin Bieber

Justin Bieber

The 23-year-old singer was a notable absentee from the bash in New York City on Sunday (28.01.18), when he was instead spotted spotted hanging out with friends and a few fans in Santa Monica, California.

An eyewitness told 'Entertainment Tonight' that Justin was "in a low key, good mood and was very sweet".

In his absence, Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee still took the stage with vocalist and Miss Universe 2006 Zuleyka Rivera to perform a rendition 'Despacito'.

Justin previously appeared on a remix of the track, but according to Luis, the chart-topping star - who rekindled his romance with Selena Gomez in 2017 - declined his invitation to perform.

The singer - whose single received three Grammy nominations - said: "Of course we extended the invitation. He's part of the nomination and he helped the song grow even more, and I'm so proud of the job that he did. I'm so proud that he decided to sing most of the song in Spanish ... so we're very grateful.

"He's a good friend, he's a good guy, so hopefully, we'll be able to celebrate together."

Meanwhile, Luis also admitted to be being anxious about performing at the Grammys as a Latin artist.

Speaking prior to the ceremony, he confessed: "I'm a little nervous, I'm not gonna lie. This is really big. Not only for me but for Latin music in general, to be able to sing a song in Spanish for the big show. I'm really proud to be here.

"Being from Puerto Rico, growing up here in the United States, I've always been so proud of my roots and my language, and all these artists who are performing, they've all influenced me.

"So to be able to celebrate a little bit of who I am and where I'm from, and to share with the world, and break that language barrier - especially after everything that [Puerto Rico has] been going through - this is already just good vibes for everybody."