I don’t get the Justin Bieber craze. I get that I’m not supposed to. But I’m a relatively open-minded individual, and I’ll explore the various modes of art and entertainment to grow and make myself a well-rounded person. But I just don’t get what the deal is here.

Is it his personality? Maybe the music that his fans obsess over? Perhaps it’s those dashing good looks. But I can’t really say it’s any of those that spring to mind as dynamic reasons that he’s catapulted to the stratosphere of fame in the current entertainment landscape.

There’s a constant stream of rumors from Hollywood that he’s bratty, vindictive, and difficult to work with. Whatever attention I pay to him, he seems to always come off a little douchy.

I’m not even going to dignify a song that has a chorus of “Baby, baby, baby, ooooooooooh” with a review, but suffice to say that Bieber’s potential as an actual songwriter is limited to nonexistent. He doesn’t actually sing in most of the songs as much as speak to the autotune box and wait for pre-teen girls to start crying.

The Jonas Brothers were pretty bad too. Their music was….well music is a strong word for the noise they put out, and yet women threw their money at those goons and made them pop culture icons too. (Sidenote: Everything you need to know about the Jonas Brothers can be found in this episode of South Park). At least Miley Cyrus Could sing and do stuff. Her music is mildly tolerable, and she’s even had some crossover hits; “Party in the USA” and “The Climb” definitely made it onto college student’s iPods.

The Bieb’s music is better than the JoBros at least. Credit good producers and people who are trying to turn him into a sensation. In fact, if you take away the lyrics and Justin singing, there are some good beats to those songs. And Ludacris’ PG-13 rap is also mildly amusing.

So if he can’t even sing or write worthwhile music, what’s the lasting appeal to this guy? As E! Online mentioned, the merchandising of the Bieber brand has gone so far you can buy bedsheets with his face on them. The pre-teen set has declared him to be the hottest thing alive right now.

I’m not going to go into the merits of the attractiveness of a 16 year old boy, but I’ll introduce a couple of items so you can make your own decision. First, Here’s a picture taken Bieber, and a picture of another recent teen heartthrob Taylor Lautner from Twilight: New Moon, filmed when Lautner was also 16. Make your own judgement here folks.

The last comment I’ll make about Bieber’s candidacy for teen heartthrob status based on his looks is this website: Lesbians who look like Justin Bieber.

Ultimately, Bieber is the same as all the teen heartthrobs, and they never have any rhyme or reason to their fame. The only thing history tells us they have in common is that they all fade away. I don’t know why there’s such an anti-Bieber backlash amongst the 18+ crowd (perhaps the terrible music that radio is stuffing down our throats), but the younger crowd seems to love him. Hollywood and the media are playing along, wondering what the future has in store for this mega-sensation. I just hope it’s similar to Dustin Diamond’s career.

About The Author

Jason Woods is a Blast staff writer

25 Responses

  1. Brock

    That very question came to my mind about four months ago(I’m 46 by the way)…so I got to researching his success, he was not an instant celebrity although it seemed to must of us adults that he simply appeared out of nowhere.
    The world of twitters, face book, laptops, cell phones, and teens is hard to understand, but this fantasy world does exist and can become very compelling when you truly explore the mindset of these kids, I found myself crying to a Justin Bieber concert video about his parents breakup…I had to stop and think, if this kid can move me with such emotions, just how much more intense is his music and life’s story for his generation.
    So I’ve concluded that Justin Bieber is not a made up fantasy shoved down the throats of a young generation of girls, but is the real deal, Justin Bieber has caught a wave bigger than anyone could ever have imagined and watching him riding this wave with such ease is amazing to behold.
    Last night we all sat and watched CSI because Bieber was the guest…maybe we got Bieber fever.

    Reply
  2. faith

    justin is cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply
      • brooke

        justin is handsome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  3. Joanthan

    he’s so lovely although he’s not the cutiest
    his naturally active performance can attract fans not because of face only.

    Reply
  4. adilene

    justin bieber who cares what other people think u r so AWSOME and cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply
  5. ANEZY

    Justin is okay!!!!! Well he’s vocal chords are at the stage that’s totally right for his age and yeah…….he’s pritty much acting up to his age. So far nothing hillarious has come up so I guess his mom is keeping him at a right track!

    Where I come from, people love to see other people fall on their face and that is just totally inhuman making them to be a person who sucks at living their own life!

    Bieber is famous because he’s got what it takes to be famous!!!!!

    xoxo

    Reply
  6. marjorie

    you are so right i don’t get why hes famous im 14 and there is nothing to get people to like him. he sonds like a 3 year old girl crying because she didnt get the toy she wanted.

    Reply
  7. johnny

    I HATE YOU BIEBER, but i do wonder why anyone listens to your garbage, doesnt matter though, to everyone i know except like 3 people calling someone justin bieber is the worst insult you can say

    Reply
  8. johnny

    I would rather have thorns through my entire body than listen to your lyrics, hate you bieber. big time

    Reply
  9. Kate

    What I find odd about his success is adults in the entertainment business who are well established are falling all over him. When I think back to other teen idols like Donny Osmond or David Cassidy, the craziness of their fame was reserved to the teeny bopper crowd. It wasn’t mainstream like Justin’s is. I’ve listened to his music videos…his voice is electronically altered. It’s not a particularly strong voice. So what’s the deal? He llok like a 14 year old Donny with that haircut. I guess it just shows there really is nothing new in the world. With Lady Gaga’s success too…it seems like Donny and Madonna are still here with us, just in other bodies. Is their nothing unique anymore?

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  10. Scott

    Who cares why he is famous, just pay attention to what his age is when he fades away. He’s already 17, just wait till the first day of march in 2011. He’ll stay “Up”, and he’ll have earned it. People love the way he looks. People love his voice. People love how nice he is. Why do you think of everything as dirty and wrong? The chorus to “Baby” means that is what he said. The “Oooooooh” represents his pain as he tells her he loves her and she says that she can’t be with him because she loves another guy. Google the lyrics. If you can’t understand them, don’t criticize them. Don’t even talk about them. He is famous because of his voice, his looks, his hair, his personality, and the fact that all of the other GUY teenage heartthrobs are cold, heartless, evil people who don’t give a damn about anyone but themselves. He and Michael Jackson are good people, and btw, I’m a non-gay boy in Texas, the hate state to pop, and friend to rock and heavy metal. Rock and pop don’t mix. That’s just the way it is. I get hated on every day because I support Justin Bieber! Don’t even think of criticizing him! Support him even though gay people look like him. Gay people are one of his biggest fan bases, besides teenage girls and their moms. Just stop hating on him, and stop worshiping him. Listen to his music and support him, don’t hurt him! Btw, he didn’t pay me to do this, I did it on my own, and also, don’t even think that I’m him, because I am able to tell you that it IS possible for you to trace this, and find out that I’m telling the truth. Just leave him alone.

    Reply
  11. WhoCares

    I cant wait till the justin beiber is completely erased from the world of music. I cannot bare to hear his voice much longer.

    Reply

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