OMG…J-BEEBS

The first thing I said when I walked into my house after class today was a simple question directed towards my little 17 year-old sister: What do you think of Justin Bieber? In a high-pitched irritating voice, the response was simple…I LOVE HIM! As a 23 year-old, I would like to state that my interest in Justin Bieber and his music is equivalent to that of my profound and ardent interest in watching fresh paint dry on a wall or listening to my grandmother lecture me on why I am not eating her food (even when I repeatedly tell her that I just ate 3 meals before coming to her house – it’s a European thing and I love her). I’m more of a mix of Calvin Harris, Avicii, and Kaskade with Foster the People, the Black Keys, and Mumford and Sons type of person. 

For those who are offended, my apologies – but this IS a blog

Despite my opinion, Justin Bieber currently has 17,847,094 followers on the social network Twitter (I’m not one of them…but you CAN follow me @DannyyyyG). His My World album went platinum only 3 months after it was released and in 2011, Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga were rated as the two most charitable celebrities (Beebs came first). He has dedicated an inordinate amount of time towards supporting charities and charitable events, including charitable concerts and appearances. His work should be praised!?

One of the topics for discussion in today’s lecture involved pop music figures and the difficulty of being able to regard their actions and words as sincere and authentic. An example regarding this topic of discussion was mentioned at the end of class involving the Jonas Brothers and their purity rings – can we really believe that they will abstain from sexual intercourse before marriage? Then it dawned on me – what about Tim Tebow’s remarks regarding his virginity. Do we believe/trust Tebow more than we do the Jonas Brothers? Or Bieber’s/Lady Gaga’s actions as being sincere? 

I feel that the reason why society finds it difficult to acknowledge the sincerity of pop music figures is because there is a fundamental difference between how we perceive the controversial values inherent in the entertainment industry and the so-called ‘redeeming’ qualities of the athlete. Documentaries and interviews on athletes, especially with boxers, often times reveal a troubled or difficult childhood. The athlete emphasizes and attributes qualities such as hard work, dedication, sacrifice, and discipline to their ability succeed in life and in their respective sport. I believe that these ‘life qualities’ are what society admires and ultimately adopts. The NBA and the NFL all donate to charities and a majority of players from these respective leagues have their own charities as well. That being said, let’s not forget about the Tiger Woods saga or should I say scandal! Maybe society is just inherently cynical and questions the altruistic actions of all groups. Perhaps this is not specific to the music industry. Were people cynical when pop culture figures performed charitable work or donated sums of money 15-20 years ago or is this a recent trend?

Ps. In the time I took to write this blog, Justin Bieber gained 2,102 more followers on Twitter.