Marc Shapiro - Justin Bieber: The Fever!

Justin Bieber: The Fever!

The Fever!

Marc Shapiro

ST. MARTINS GRIFFIN

NEW YORK

JUSTIN BIEBER: THE FEVER! Copyright 2010 by Marc Shapiro. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. For information, address St. Martins Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

www.stmartins.com

ISBN 978-0-312-67878-4

First Edition: August 2010

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This book is dedicated to...

My wife, Nancy, for the love and support. My daughter, Rachael, for keeping me honest. My dog, Brady, for those long walks around the hood. My agent, Lori Perkins, for yet another job well done. Marc Resnick at St. Martins for letting me bring Justin Bieber to you. And, finally, this book is dedicated to the magic and the fantasy of being sixteen and being attracted to the face, the eyes, and the attitude of the pop life.

Justin Bieber: The Fever!

Justin Bieber admits to taking naps. Nap time is a daily part of his schedule and can last for hours. Now, sleeping is a rather unusual pastime for a sixteen-year-old. But then Justin Bieber is not your average teenager.

At a time when most sixteen-year-old boys are trying out for the high school football team, showing an interest in girls, and preparing for that test in fifth-period math, Justin is spending his days in the midst of a seemingly endless round of stardom and celebrity. And contrary to what you might believe, stardom is hard work. So you cant really blame him for copping a few zs.

Recording sessions, video shoots, press interviews, personal appearances, and, beginning in the summer of 2010, his first full-blown headlining concert tourand, yes, continuing his high school education in the middle of it allJustin Biebers life is a whirlwind of obligations of celebrity and stardom on a worldwide stage.

And it is all happening at a lightning-fast pace.

Justins story is not all that unusual in the history of popular music. In fact, it seems to happen with surprising regularity. Every generation seems to have their Beatles. Donny Osmond. Justin Timberlake. Usher. Bobby Sherman (ask your parents about Bobby). The formula is pretty simple. Take one pretty face, a squeaky-clean image, throw in a clear, youthful, emotional voice and soulful pop songs that appeal to both the young and young at heart, and there you have it: stardom.

But this is the kind of stardom that has been rare in recent years. A lot of recent pop music idols have come by way of American Idol, Disney television shows, and other programs with crossover appeal. Its packaged stardom, with no real sense of an artist paying dues, being real, or having soul. Justin does not come from that place. He was a total unknown, a nobody who came from nowhere. He had a tougher road to walk.

And Justin Biebers success story is cut from an edgier cloth. Nobody beyond his home in Stratford, Ontario, would have known the Canadian youngster if his mother had not taped a series of very early talent show performances and put them on the Internet. Thanks to the Internet and sites like MySpace and Facebook in particular, the world knew about Justin and his talent and charisma well before record companies and managers did. But eventually word trickled down to them and the young boy and future star was discovered.

But getting discovered and getting the deal was only part of the equation. From the beginning, Justin was basically a nice, clean-cut, down-to-earth kid who, from the word go, treated his fans and fellow performers and anybody he came in contact with respectfully. Want an autograph? Just ask and Justin is happy to oblige. Stop him on the street and he is pleased to share a few words and moments with you. Justin was not a kid who was going to pull a Britney or Lindsay and self-destruct in the pages of the tabloids. He was into everything stardom and celebrity had to offer, and for all the right reasons.

Basically, Im just a normal kid, he told the Toronto Sun. I make good grilled cheese sandwiches. I like girls. Im good in English but bad in Chemistry.

And lest we forget, he also wears braces. Theyre invisible but theyre braces just the same.

Even the TMZs of the world had to alter their approach to covering him. Rather than catch him in an embarrassing moment, making some dumb comment or obscene gesture, Justins regular appearances on tabloid TV shows have had a borderline G rating to them. Heres Justin smiling as he ducks inside his limo. Heres Justin signing autographs. And most extreme? Heres Justin being mobbed and chased down every street in the world by hordes of screaming young girls. Its reminiscent of the height of Beatlemania, and all pretty chaste.

Lets face it, when it comes to scandal, Justin is not an easy target. This is a kid who is so pure of heart that he prays backstage before every performance and is forever thankful for the good fortune that has come his way. He once hid his tutors cell phone. One time he called a television camera mans move dumb. Thats about as bad as it gets with Justin.

Justin is very much a by-product of the Twitter age. When he makes a personal appearance or theres a news story about him, he is usually right on top of it with a text message to his fans. Even if its something as mundane as what hes going to be doing on a very long flight to Japan, he uses modern technology to bring his fans along with him. Justin has made a career out of literally taking his fans with him everywhere he goes. And he has gone a long way in a hurry.

And the final irony of ironies when it comes to Justin Bieber? If your parents are willing to admit it, they kind of like him too. Why? Because he doesnt come across as all heavy metal, punk rock, or gangsta rap. You could bring him home. You could take him to church. In the best possible way, Justin Bieber is just plain safe.

If youre looking for major conflict, controversy, and a whole lot of scandal, this book is not for you. Dont expect a laundry list of his favorite foods, favorite color, and so forth. Chances are youre already hip to all the Tiger Beat stuff because you are a true believer in Bieber Fever.

However, if youre up for a straightforward account of what happens when talent and luck and just being a nice kid mix... well, weve got your happy ending right here.

Justin thought it was a good idea.

His debut album, My World, had been released November 17, 2009, and, as Thanksgiving approached, he was on the road, promoting the album with a seemingly endless round of press interviews and radio and television appearances.

However, at this point it must have all started to feel a bit mechanical and unfeeling. The normal teenage boy in him probably wanted to be out and about and hanging with real people his own age. As he munched on room service food, played video games, and stared distractedly at the TV, his thoughts were never far from what had quickly become a huge, worldwide fan base, and he thought he should do something special for them.

So when it was suggested that it might be a good idea to schedule an album-signing event at the Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City, New York, Justin immediately said yes.

Which came as no surprise.

Justins down-to-earth nature had been one of his most attractive traits since well before he burst onto the pop music scene. He had always put other peoples feelings before his own and was quick to go out of his way to help them. In other words, he was just an unbelievably good kid.