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| Justin Bieber with his Beliebers |
In the celebrity world, there aren't many people like Justin Bieber. From an incredibly young age, he has developed to be one of the biggest pop stars in the world. Justin Bieber is only 19 years of age and was raised in a small city of Stratford in Canada. Yet the amount of followers he has on his Twitter account is over 1,200 times as many as the city's population.
What makes Justin Bieber the most talked about singer in modern music? He has sold more than eight million albums, collected countless number of music awards and his 2010 single "Baby" was YouTube's most popular video until very recently, when Psy's Gangnam Style became the first video to be seen more than a billion times. He has an incredibly huge fan base, which he calls "Beliebers". If you are a "Belieber", you are almost considered to be part of a majority.
Like everybody in this planet, Bieber has his problems. Being famous and popular can take its toll on a youngster. Although Bieber likes to emphasise to his fans that he thrives on the attention he receives, it is clear that there is a sense of discomfort with some aspects of being in the public limelight all day, every day. A recent example of this is the Canadian's current World tour, promoting his recent "Believe" album.
This Believe tour was going well. The people of the United States and Canada were amazed with his performances. And with another popular Canadian artist Carly Rae Jepsen supporting him in these countries, the people lucky enough to get a ticket thought they were getting their money's worth - even if some critics say his performances had smoke but no fire. When Bieber landed in Europe, he received similar receptions in the Irish capital Dublin, and in English cities including Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester. However, when he arrived in London in early March, things started to go pear shaped.
Prior to London, he stole the hearts of many people with his reputation as a teenage superstar intact. However, at his first of four performance at the iconic O2 Arena in the British capital, he was two hours late. This produced widespread anger among supporters, many of whom were teenagers who had school to attend to the next day. Although some children don't mind missing one day of school, that then caused their parents to have a say or two. Bieber blamed some inexcusable glitches but if I went to a much-anticipated concert, only for the performer to arrive at the time he/she was due to finish, I wouldn't be happy.
Bieber's misfortunes in London didn't stop there. Towards the end of his third performance, he suffered fatigue and was advised to take breaks before ending his show on a dignified high. I was surprised when I first heard this. I must admit, I am not "fit" and if I did all the prancing around he does - I would also suffer from fatigue. However, he is trained by highly professional and expert choreographers who ensure that the dance moves are suited for a supposedly fit 19-year-old. Perhaps he has done too many days around the world doing the same routine day-in-day out. This tour has so far made revenue of more than $63 million, so the hard work may have been worth it so far but suffering fatigue is a bit embarrassing for a teenage "superstar".
Bieber's misfortunes in London didn't stop there. On his last day of touring, he was involved in an unwelcoming exchange with paparazzi. We all know that "paps" have developed a sleazy reputation but that doesn't stop the Canadian from reacting in an immature way. Strange, because the aim of this tour was to show the world how much he has matured since his debut album some years ago. Certainly, the paparazzi may have said some offensive things to him but surely Bieber must have learned in school that you ignore bullies? Let's put it this way, Bieber will not be rushing back to London in a hurry.
Once he left London, Bieber toured in Paris in France, Spain, Switzerland, Italy and Poland without attracting negative press. However, once he arrived in Germany for another spellbinding performance in Munich, he had his monkey called Mally confiscated by airport security. The reason being - Bieber didn't supply with the official documents which says that Mally, who was given to him as a birthday gift, can come to Germany. Subsequently, the Canadian had to pay $17,000 in quarantine fines.
Onwards and upwards, after successful trips to Strasbourg in France and Belgium, Bieber was in the spotlight again for another remarkable reason once he landed in the Netherlands. He visited the Anne Frank House. For those who don't know, Anne Frank was a teenage girl who was one of many, many victims to have tragically lost their lives during the atrocities committed by the Nazis in Germany in the Second World War. A diary she wrote during the War is still read and admired by millions across the world, something Justin Bieber wanted to been seen doing. He wanted to be seen inspired and emotional, showing his maturity. That all changed when he wrote on the guest-book that he wished Anne Frank was a "Belieber". At first, I didn't think of it as a bad thing to say but now I'm thinking "what on earth was he thinking?"
Bieber's PR team is trying everything to ensure he is a positive role model but instead he's thinking about himself. There's nothing wrong about putting yourself first, but he simply lacks sensitivity. It reminds me of the time he was going out with Selena Gomez, another popular singer. The pair going out provoked needless anger from Beliebers who issued Gomez with death threats. Instead of defending her, Bieber focused on increasing his fan base and enhancing his career. Gomez was effectively shown the door.
After going Dutch, Bieber toured Norway. He was only there for three days but school children had their annual exams delayed because teachers knew a lot of them would be attending the Canadian's concerts. That didn't cause as much uproar as when he arrived in Sweden. Detectives in Sweden found traces of drugs in his tour bus. There have been no arrests as yet but no doubt, this is another blow to Bieber's crumbling reputation from being a sweet boy to a complete narcissist.
Justin Bieber's adventure in Europe is coming to an end and he's probably thinking "thank goodness", so do I. I have nothing against him as he is incredibly successful and it's all down to his singing and dancing talent. I sincerely hope that the duration of his world tour goes without controversy, and that he takes a long earned break away from the spotlight after his last "Believe" performance in Atlanta on the 10th August.
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