I’ve seen a lot of Justin Bieber in the past year.
He’s taken over YouTube, with his channel receiving over one billion views. He’s appeared on magazine covers ranging from Tiger Beat to Vanity Fair. He’s been the inspiration for many a white male on Halloween. Simply put, the kid is everywhere.
And yet, I’ve never heard anyone admit to (genuinely) liking him. For me, this all changed tonight.
After attending the opening night of Justin Bieber’s biopic Never Say Never, I can safely say I was once thrown into an arena of sorts. Except instead of lions I was thrown into a pit of ailing girls, sporting their glow sticks and homemade “WE LUV JUSTIN” t-shirts.
Their sickness? None other than Bieber Fever.
This overwhelming force screamed when Bieber sang, freaked when Bieber danced, and shrieked at roughly a billion decibels when Bieber flipped his hair. It was a lot like what I imagine being at an actual Justin Bieber concert would be like. That, or a massacre.
But Tweens aside: I actually kind of enjoyed the movie.
Let me explain before you revoke my driver’s license or ability to blog. I didn’t walk into the theater rolling my eyes and exit the theater two hours later a rabid, screaming fangirl—a “Belieber”, as members of his fan base have come to be called.
However, I did leave the movie with a little more respect for Justin Bieber as a performer.
This movie gave the audience a chance to look past the pyrotechnics and lasers and realize Beiber is actually a pretty talented kid. Thanks to interviews with his family and friends and numerous home videos (and believe me, there is a lot of this footage), the audience realizes from the very beginning that Bieber cannot only sing, but can drum and keep a solid beat going.
At this point, he’s about two years old.
As the film chronicles his rise through YouTube, his first big single (“One Time”, anybody?) and his sold-out concert at Madison Square Garden, one begins to understand that sure, the kid is Usher’s protégée and sure, he sold out the Garden in 22 minutes and sure, he’s got thousands of devoted (some say crazy) fans—but he’s a competent artist all on his own. It was just a little bit of luck that secured his place in pop culture today.
So yes, I like Justin Bieber a little more now. I’m not drawing absurdly inaccurate pictures of him or waiting eagerly to buy his concert tickets or buying a magazine with a picture of him shirtless so I can tape it to my wall.
But I do think that he’s more than just a flash in the pan and may actually have more talent than people give him credit for. Sure, he’s a growing kid and won’t stay sweet and young forever (apparently him and Selena Gomez are rumored to be a thing?).
For now, however, he’s scrubbed clean and totally unthreatening, the movie capturing his dulcet tones and complex choreography at just the right pitch and angle.
Also, both Usher and Ludacris were in the film as well, so there’s that for your night.
