Cara Gilmartin
It’s time to talk about everyone’s
favorite subject: Justin Bieber! Okay,
maybe it’s just mine, but we cannot deny that most people do seem to have
something to say when it comes to him. The
self-taught musician turned (self-taught?) bad boy, discovered at the tender
age of fourteen on YouTube by now longtime manager Scooter Braun, rose to
stardom with the help of Braun and Usher Raymond IV. At age fifteen, he became the first artist
with seven songs from a debut album to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. According
to Billboard, Justin is also “the
only artist to have notched five No. 1 albums before turning 19 years old.”
(Caulfield) But guess what? That’s not
what we’re talking about. At one point,
all we could talk about was his music, his cuteness (okay, personal opinion),
and his teenage love affair with pop star/wizard Selena Gomez. However, when you think of Justin Bieber now,
is the first thing that comes into your head his music? I doubt it.
2013 was a memorable year for celebrity
culture, many thanks to Bieber. Raechal Leone Shewfalt writes in Yahoo’s OMG!
Blog, “The bad year
got off to a bad start on New Year's Day, when a photographer was killed in a
car accident while trying to snap a photo of the singer (who, it turned out,
wasn't even at the scene). Soon after came Biebs mooning his fans; spitting on
his fans; showing up late for his own concerts; abandoning a pet
monkey in Germany; peeing in a bucket
while ranting about former President Bill Clinton; attacking photographers;
annoying neighbors; and visiting a brothel and spraying graffiti in Brazil.
Music? Sure, he released some songs, but his day job was completely
overshadowed by his offstage shenanigans.” (Shewfalt) 2014 hasn’t looked much better, either. In January of this year, Justin was arrested
in Miami Beach for suspicion of DUI, driving with an expired license, and resisting
arrest without violence; which I’m sure you all knew. He also surrendered to police in Toronto just
days later, and was charged with assault a limousine driver in December
2013. You probably knew that, too.
When all of this started happening, the media
jumped at the opportunity to write up stories or leak footage of Bieber’s
misbehavior. To be honest, I cannot even
begin to think of an entertainment media or even a general news media outlet
that did not cover his arrest. On social
media sites, timelines and news feeds were covered with mug shots for
days. Mug shots turned into video
footage of his sobriety test, which turned into footage from his recent deposition. Because we were so easily fed this
information, we were quick to formulate opinions on the matter. Other celebrities began to express their
feelings about the Biebs, and some were quick to aid to his destruction. The most common perception of Justin is that
he is teaching young teenagers that it is okay to act out this way and rebel. Drake
Bell, most notably known his role as Drake on Nickelodeon’s Drake & Josh,
initiated a petition to have Bieber deported back to his native Canada. Many
celebrities, such as Mark Wahlberg and the boys of One Direction, have been
asked about their feelings toward Justin during their own interviews. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone,
comedian Patton Oswalt explained, Maybe some of the stuff that Justin Bieber and
Lady Gaga sometimes do, I understand when people bring [it] up like, ‘Oh, this
might be damaging teens here.’ But we had just as many damaging things sung and
shown to us on MTV all through the Eighties, and we survived it.” (Weingarten)
The idea that our culture needs to know celebrities
for more than just the thing that got them famous in the first place seems to
be the case with many of the highly publicized celebrities today. Celebrity is simply defined in the dictionary
as, “a famous or celebrated person.” Generally, we celebrate these people due
to talent (unless you’re a Kardashian).
However, with the dangerous combination of heavy reliance and freedom of
expression on social media, it’s not just about the talent anymore. Sure, George Clooney is a great actor…one
that can’t seem to find a wife. Yes,
Miley Cyrus used to be Hannah Montana and now she’s completely changed her
image…and she’s sad because her dog died last week. The point is…the media has completely changed
the conversation.
In Justin’s case, there is no denying that he
played a major role in changing the conversation as well. However, are we really only having this
conversation about him because he is a celebrity? If a non-famous 20 year-old male was arrested
on the same charges or caught in similar controversial situations as Bieber,
would we be talking about it? Will it
ever be about the music again?
Works Cited
Caulfield,
Keith. "Justin Bieber Becomes First Artist With Five No. 1 Albums Before
19th Birthday." Billboard. 6 Feb. 2013. Web.
Shewfelt, Raechal Leone. "Celeb Winners
and Losers of 2013." OMG! 27 Dec.
2013. Web.
Weingarten,
Christopher. "How Patton Oswalt Learned to Stop Hating and Accept Justin
Bieber." Rolling Stone. 3 Apr. 2014. Web.
It’s no surprise that a pop star like Justin Bieber has somewhat fallen off the deep end. A young, independent teenage boy has the world at his fingertips. He essentially has access to all of the money, girls, drugs, and attention that he could possibly ever want. But as questioned in the blog, why are we focusing on aspects of his life outside of the music? I believe it’s because we can. We as a society have access to that information. Technology and social media have allowed us to enter the lives of these individuals in the most invasive way. The kid has 31 million twitter followers for Pete’s sake (Markovitz 2012). Bieber is constantly in the spotlight and has millions of people watching his every move (not that this excuses any of his actions), but truthfully, I’m certain that there were reckless, inhumane acts performed by some of the most well respected artists of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, the public just didn’t have the proof, so it was not necessarily a concern. It’s truly a shame that this is what “celebrity” has come to. Their lives are invaded to the point where the celebrity themselves begin to feed off of the attention – as exemplified by Bieber when he spit on his fans, mooned them, graffitied Brazil, etc. (Shewfelt 2013) and run their lives into the ground. Is it his A-list celebrity status? Is it merely the genetics of an immature teenage boy who just has too much freedom at his disposal? I don’t believe we will ever know, but it’s an interesting sociological thought to ponder.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, I believe that the entertainment industry will inevitably put pressure on a celebrity to maintain a certain image. I also believe, though, that it is possible for a celebrity to take a stand and fight against that stigma and that barrier. Jennifer Lawrence, who has a “down-to-earth, quirky personality” (Shewfelt 2013) for example, takes a firm stance in regard to body image. She has expressed numerous times that she does not want girls who look up to her to be starving themselves to be more like her. She wants to be recognized as a strong, successful actress, and I believe she has done just that. Despite the fact that Lawrence is not a Disney star, and therefore her own self-structured celebrity status might be arguably “easier” to maintain than Beiber’s, I still believe it is possible to stay true to oneself when working in the entertainment industry. Hilary Duff, for example, is a Disney star who was in the spotlight but managed to escape the pressures of the industry. It is clear that Bieber wants the attention, and refuses to escape it. If he truly wanted to better himself and be a responsible, respectful individual, he could be. For now, however, Bieber is merely an immature, irresponsible teenage boy who craves the attention of the spotlight and will continue to until it burns out.
Markovitz, Adam. "Hollywood's Twitter Jitters." Entertainment Weekly 7 Dec. 2012. Web.
Shewfelt, Raechal Leone. "Celeb Winners and Losers of 2013." OMG! 27 Dec. 2013. Web.
Cara, surprise surprise here we are, talking about Bieber. While I respect your love and obsession, I simply cannot side with you on this. You did have great points in this post, from our society’s adding to the destruction of celebrities, to his questionable antics, and how celebrities are getting talked about for many more things than they should be. To answer some of your last thoughts and question, the answer is no. We would not be talking about this if it were a 20 year old getting arrested for a DUI. But, respectfully, that isn’t the point. Celebrities should be talked about for the atrocious things they do and should be held more accountable (if even held accountable in the first place) than the average person. Celebrities like Bieber are held to a higher standard, as they should be, because they are in the public eye. They serve as role models for the nation’s younger generation and for the population as a whole. When they commit acts such as egging, dangerous driving, assaulting a limo driver, peeing in public, illegally transporting a monkey, spitting on his neighbor, and more, and comes out with nothing but a scratch and a slap on the wrist, or a monetary punishment that is no big deal for him anyway, then it makes people have no faith in their nation or legal system whatsoever. Its simply unfair. If any other non-celeb did any one of these, never mind all of them, I’m sure there would be extreme measures taken against them.
ReplyDeleteIn saying that, we do not talk about his music because it will always be there. It stays the same “Bieber-type” music with no real change in my opinion. He is a pompous brat who thinks nothing can touch him so why give him any credit and focus on what he does right? He does so many things wrong that he overshadows himself. One can blame the media for blowing things out of proportion, but in reality if he would quit the shenanigans, maybe people would go back to talking about what he can do musically. Maybe if he himself worked on creating new material, innovative stuff, music that will create an amazing buzz, then we wouldn’t think of him as a “loser” as Raechal Leone Shewfelt does in her article, “Celeb Winners and Losers of 2013.” She speaks of is mooning, spitting, tardiness, brothel-going, but does talk about his music. Oh right, she says, “he released some songs.” Riveting.
I believe there is no defense for him. He had all the success, all the fame, decent music, why throw it all away? Take Queen B for example. She doesn’t pull any of this ish and guess what we talk about relating to Beyonce: her music. She keeps music and her name in our mouths because she is a true musician and makes it her entire life and career. It is very simple. You and you alone decide what your fans, and the world, talks about. Miley, she wanted us to talk about her VMA performance because it was so outrageous and guess what we talked (and still are talking) about. Right. She does this and even keeps her music fresh and hot. Props Miley.
So while Biebs is goofing off, its his own fault he is falling off. He’d better do something, and do it fast, because while he’s getting called a loser, a few short paragraphs up is Kim Kardashian with “winner” next to her name…god that’s scary.
Arianna Paluzzi
Works Cited:
Shewfelt, Raechal Leone. "Celeb Winners and Losers of 2013." OMG! 27 Dec. 2013. Web.
"Biebs Behaving Badly." Entertainment Weekly 21 Feb. 2014: 14.
I used to hate the Biebs. I mean, I really HATED the Biebs. Maybe it was because of his addiction to purple clothing, his long perfectly combed hair or because my girlfriend was more obsessed with him than me… I don’t know for sure. But, to be honest, I kind of like him now.
ReplyDeleteFirst, let’s take a look at Bieber’s rap sheet over the last year. It all began on New Year’s Day when a photographer was killed in a car accident trying to take a picture of the young pop star (Shewfelt). On top of that, Bieber gets his pet monkey seized for not having the correct papers when he flies to Germany Pretty soon, he starts showing up late for shows, mooning fans and starting fights with the paparazzi. Then, it is all down hill from there. He turns to smoking ridiculous amounts of weed, racing cars intoxicated (or high), vandalizing his neighbor’s house and milking strippers (Entertainment Weekly).
Did it take two small incidents like this for the Biebs to go off his rocker? Yes, it definitely did! Take a second and put yourself in Bieber’s shoes. The kid is nineteen years old with one of the largest, craziest fan bases on the planet. He has to deal with and pretend to like all of these insane people on a daily basis. I remember going on Twitter one day and seeing the trending hashtag, “#cuts4bieber”. I think it was after he was caught smoking weed for the first time. There were enough people participating in this ridiculous act that it as ACTUALLY trending. In addition, he cannot go anywhere without the paparazzi tracking his every move. I don’t know how any celebrity could deal with this aspect of fame. I would of probably snapped years before this kid.
Also, what people tend forget is that Bieber is NINETEEN years old. He is not a role model or old enough to be one. Of course he is going to smoke weed and drink. And, of course he is going to do stupid things with his friends. He is handed millions and millions of dollars a year with basically no supervision. So, what does he do? He does what any other nineteen year old would do. He buys a house with all of his friends, throws a ton of parties and spends preposterous amounts of money.
So, what I am getting to is that we made Bieber the way he is. I don’t blame him from transforming from this cute little kid to a complete monster. Although I think it’s hysterical, it is kind of sad. It seems like he’s one of those children who didn’t have real parents. Instead of telling him, “Justin, that isn’t a good idea”, they just let security take care of him and sit at home with a ton of money. All in all, I don’t hate the Biebs and I actually kind of feel for him. But, if this keeps up, he will be irrelevant in five years anyway.
Works Cited:
“Biebs Behaving Badly.” Entertainment Weekly 21 Feb. 2014: 14.
Caulfield, Keith. "Justin Bieber Becomes First Artist With Five No. 1 Albums Before 19th Birthday." Billboard. 6 Feb. 2013. Web.
Cara, very interesting topic and like many others I really, really do not like Justin Bieber but I must say I enjoyed reading this blog post. If someone doesn’t have an opinion on Justin Bieber, they’re lying. You either hate him, or you love him and these days he seems to be gaining more and more haters. So, if everyone hates him why is he so popular and constantly gaining publicity? The answer could be the old idea that any publicity is good publicity. Today it almost seems that we have more celebrities in the news that aren’t talented or successful, but rather just a mess. Maybe this is because we, as media consumers have grown to love to watch celebrities fail. Think about how many times Justin Bieber, Lindsay Lohan or Amanda Bynes been in entertainment news (not related to their career)? The answer is too many. If you missed any of Bieber’s misbehaving- don’t worry Entertainment Weekly has even developed a “Pain in the Axis” where you can see just about how rude and obnoxious he can act. Bieber really covered all his bases between the DUI arrest and spitting on his neighbor in regards to the neighbors’ remarks about the pop star’s driving. Classy, huh?
ReplyDeleteAlthough it is possible for stars like Justin Bieber to continue to be in the spot light for the wrong reasons I personally feel that this could change in the future. Today it is easier and easier to get noticed either through social media sites or even YouTube like Justin was picked up by Usher. Bieber may still be enjoying the spot light, there are many other celebrities who are in the spot light because they are talented, relatable and loved by so many fans. For example, Hollywood’s new favorite, Jennifer Lawrence. “Every time she opens her mouth, we fall more in love with her down-to-earth, quirky personality” (Shewfelt). Jennifer Lawrence is another star that is always on the news, or the buzz on social media. Whether its about a funny comment she made during an interview, her stellar performance in a new blockbuster, or speaking out against the issues in society regarding body image everyone is talking about her and for all the right reasons. With more and more positive influences in Hollywood, fans will not have the patience for stars like Justin Bieber who is an awful influence on society. Stars like Justin will always have that very small and loyal fan base who refuse to give up hope that he will turn a corner and be the same Justin we saw when he first made it big. Of course people (his haters) will want to see him in the news making a fool of himself just to validate their reasoning to hate him. To go back to Cara’s point will it ever be about his music again? No, I don’t think it will be. At this point if he is getting away with spitting on neighbors and dragging racing under the influence, what could possibly compel him to stop and go back to his music?
Works Cited:
"Biebs Behaving Badly." Entertainment Weekly 21 Feb. 2014: 14.
Shewfelt, Raechal Leone. "Celeb Winners and Losers of 2013." OMG! 27 Dec. 2013. Web.
I think that in today’s culture there is now a difference between a celebrity and a musician. Of course, there are people who can’t seem to stay out of the headlines and for entirely the wrong reasons. As you pointed out, Cara, Justin Bieber has called attention to himself for all of the wrong reasons lately. And no, chances are if a normal teenager was caught egging a house or were arrested we would not hear about it on a day-to-day basis. But Justin Bieber is not a normal teenager. With the way the media brings to light any and all celebrity imperfections, there is little chance of keeping something under wraps.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I do think there are some musicians that are recognized more for their music than their latest run-in with the law. Some artists, for instance, many indie bands and the like are expected to stay out of the spotlight and just focus on being great musicians. Meanwhile, artists such as Justin Bieber are set up to fail. From being in the spotlight from such a young age, it was only a matter of time until he acted out in a negative manner. In fact, it would not be wrong to assume that most people were waiting for it to happen.
A perfect example of this is the opening sentence to this Entertainment Weekly article asking, “What’s pop’s most prolific troublemaker, Justin Bieber, up to last week?” This article includes a chart mapping out Bieber’s most obnoxious acts. Out of twenty-five instances mentioned, not one of them has anything even remotely to do with music. In this way, I would argue that Justin Bieber has become much more of a celebrity than a musician. Whether or not is Bieber’s own fault or the fault of the media is the main question.
Another example of celebrities being criticized for topics unrelated to their talent is seen with Paula Deen. As stated in an article from The Wall Street Journal states, “Ms. Deen became one of the best known in the crop of television celebrity chefs. But she fell from popular grace last year over her admitted use of racially controversial language,” (Hawkins). Again, Deen’s talent as a chef had absolutely nothing to do with her downfall as a celebrity.
It is clear that both Justin Bieber and Paula Deen’s actions were wrong. However, whether or not their actions outside their industry should affect their status as a celebrity is a different matter. With the introduction of the twenty-four hour news cycle, celebrities no longer have the privacy that they used to. There is no chance of a news story not breaking. Furthermore, with news sources being able to get stories by merely asking viewers or followers to send in pictures or videos, there are very few moments that celebrities can actually have to themselves. Unfortunately, this means that they are being watched 24/7. It also means that their celebrity status and more importantly their careers are constantly in jeopardy.
Kelsey Scriven
"Biebs Behaving Badly." Entertainment Weekly 21 Feb. 2014: 14.
Hawkins, Lee. "Paula Deen Is Ready to Come Back, Y'all." Wall Street Journal 11 Feb.
2014. Web.
I remember a time when the Backstreet Boys and N’SYNC were popular… everyone knew their music, sang their songs, and of course, recognized their faces. These boy bands were posted everywhere, seemingly unable to get away from the spotlight.
ReplyDeleteThen again, technology and social media weren’t anything like they are now. Yes, there was a time people adored Justin Bieber for his music (and possibly his face as well). I am not afraid to admit that I enjoy some of his first songs. Hell, after watching his biographical movie Never Say Never, I liked him even more. I couldn’t get over the images portraying him and his family praying before each performance and the relationship with his mom. Needless to say, that ended quickly.
I am quite aware that musicians and celebrities are human just like me, and therefore prone to human error. Because of this fact, I try to give celebrities a little leeway when they make a mistake. After all, it is difficult for anyone to not see you make a mistake when you are constantly surrounded by the paparazzi. However, if you are a celebrity like Justin Bieber, and you know that the media is going to be following your every move, you should probably not drag race your ostentatious yellow Lamborghini, egg a neighbor’s house, or do inappropriate things to a stripper (“Biebs Behaving Badly”).
As a celebrity in constant spotlight, when your outrageous actions (or “offstage shenanigans” as Raechal Leone Shewfelt described them) are so extreme, they are going to eventually overshadow any talent you may have and any music you have released ("Celeb Winners and Losers of 2013”).
So to answer Cara’s question of whether we are only having conversations about J. Biebs because of his celebrity status, my response is two-fold. If there were any other 20-year-old drag racing a car, we would probably not hear about it. However, Bieber was drag racing a yellow Lambo: something most 20-year-olds can’t even afford to sit in, let alone drive them. The same goes for the nasty actions toward the stripper. There are probably plenty of males out there who have touched strippers inappropriately, but Biebs should know by now that there are eyes everywhere when it concerns him. If any other person our age were to be involved in actions such as these and on the off chance we did hear about it, the conversation regarding it would last maybe a day at most. Because Justin Bieber is a celebrity, there are more people who are going to hear about it, thus more people that are going to be talking about it. Also, his celebrity status means that he will be cropping up in numerous places, and when that happens, those actions are going to follow his reputation and cause commotion. “Hey, Justin Bieber is coming to town.” “Oh yeah, did you hear what he said about Anne Frank?”
Will it ever be about the music for him again? Of course it will. He still has fans who follow him and actually listen to his music. Unfortunately, his tarnished reputation is already following him and shortening the discussion about the music, turning said discussion toward his “shenanigans.”
"Biebs Behaving Badly." Entertainment Weekly 21 Feb. 2014: 14.
Shewfelt, Raechal Leone. "Celeb Winners and Losers of 2013." OMG! 27 Dec. 2013. Web.
As I sit here listening to My World, all I can think is Oh Justin… Where do I even begin with this boy? I, like Cara, am a Belieber. When I was younger, there was something about the little chipmunk-voiced boy from Canada that made me smile, sing and dance. Now I think of Justin Bieber (Or Baby Drake as I like to call him) and think Good lord, what now. His career has had a HUGE turn around. Some people believe the beginning of the end was when his voice first cracked. Some think it started when he began dating Selena Gomez. Either way, it all seems to be a very dark time for Justin Bieber. His music has taken a back seat to his bad boy shenanigans.
ReplyDeleteAs I chronicled his latest album release on my blog for a few months, everyone else was talking about all the notches he’s added to his bad boy belt. The idea of his “celebrity” has changed like we’ve seen in many young adults in Hollywood. Lindsay Lohan had her moment, Britney had hers, Miley is currently stuck in hers, and Amanda Bynes had a very public fall from stardom but hers (like Britney) was more medically based. Justin has no excuse besides an image that he would like to portray, too much time and money on his hands, and people encouraging him to do so. Some may wonder, are his fans to blame? I would undoubtedly say yes. According to P. David Marshall in The Promotion and Presentation of the Self, “…we hold the overwhelming production of celebrity: collectively, we disdain the public focus on celebrity at the same time as we continue to watch, discuss and participate and thereby endure the maintenance of a celebrity industry.”
As stated in Yahoo! OMG’s list of Celeb Winners and Losers of 2013, Justin was been seen, “mooning his fans; spitting on his fans; showing up late for his own concerts,” yet they still chose to support him! (Shewfelt) He blatantly disrespects his fans and they not only still support him (and here’s where I step down as a fan), they even argue on his behalf, physically threaten and bash anyone who talks badly about him. And because he’s never told them to calm down, these people continue to buy into his brand and it feeds his ego.
The idea of celebrity has taken away from the purpose of many of the media industries—talent. The Kardashians and “reality” television has taken away from actors and actresses on television. Paris Hilton is known as a film “actress” (not just for her home movie) and a singer. Snookie has penned a (very poorly written) novel. While I may like some of these people, it doesn’t negate the fact that they don’t have talent and are only famous for their portrayed image in the media. And because we as consumers keep buying into it, we continue to tarnish the reputations of these industries.
I truly belieb (as cringed as I wrote that) that if Justin and his label saw this change in image hurting their pockets we would see much less of him in the public and a lot less of him acting out. Unfortunately, I don’t think his PR team really cares at this point and if they do, they are most likely trying to keep what’s left of his music career afloat, because let’s be honest, who else besides me is still listening? **Crickets** …exactly!
P. David Marshall, “The Promotion and Presentation of Self: Celebrity as Marker of Presentational Media,” in The Media Studies Reader, Laurie Ouelette, ed. (New York: Routledge, 2012), 427 - 438.
Shewfelt, Raechal Leone. "Celeb Winners and Losers of 2013." OMG! 27 Dec. 2013. Web.
I remember a simpler time. Back before DUIs and depositions, before Lamborghini races and legal issues (Biebs Behaving Badly), when all you expected to spew from Justin Bieber’s mouth was a catchy hook in a boy soprano range. The harmless young Canadian seemed to be following a similar trajectory to other youth pop stars, and we all assumed his light would fizzle out five years down the road. Well, here we are, and still the public has yet to find a cure for the dreaded “Bieber fever” that has run rampant in our society ever since Scooter Braun discovered the singer on YouTube.
ReplyDeleteLittle did we know that there wasn’t just momentum behind Bieber’s singing career, but his personal image as well. Bieber is probably the most often cited figure to have gained most of his success thanks to the internet. Without the video streaming service the we can’t live without today, Bieber would’ve almost certainly fell into obscurity, probably living the life of a typical millennial north of the border. Instead, his internet following grew almost exponentially, with millions of shrieking fans connecting with the Biebs across multiple websites, sharing his message and likeness in some sort of cultish way. The movement has gained enough traction over the years to be acknowledged as its own culture. Pretty much, it’s a bunch of teens and tweens that vehemently deny/defend/applaud Bieber’s actions no matter how arrogant or obnoxious they may be.
With Bieber’s recent run-ins with the law, he’s been in news constantly for all the wrong reasons. This negative publicity has kept him in the spotlight, but many are beginning to wonder whether Bieber’s popularity is a result of his music or his high-profile antics. With Bieber having released songs periodically over the course of the last year, it’s safe to say that none of the singles he put out got more press than his arrest or Anne Frank name drop or any other TMZ’d story. This led to his naming to the Celebrity Loser list of 2013 (Shewfelt).
Bieber was doomed from the start. The amount of instant success and attention he received only set his image up to fail once he outgrew those famous bangs and soon those harmless chants of “Baby, baby, baby” turned into “cocky, cocky, cocky”. The riptide that eventually tries to swallow young pop stars is a hand current to swim against. Bieber has managed to remain relevant because despite all the negative publicity he is receiving for his actions, he doesn’t seem ready to change his ways anytime soon for anyone else. It’s sort of impressive how well he’s been able to stick to the script in his coming-of-age saga through the constant criticism and backlash. I guess that is part of what Bieber’s celebrity status can be attributed to—the singer can take a barb and pander to his critics. Just look at his “Between Two Ferns” or SNL appearances, Bieber knows full-well what he’s doing. This tailored bad boy image will keep him afloat in the business so long as he doesn’t jump ship.
Even with all these other headlines that Bieber has been creating over the past year, I still think that the conversation about him can one day be about the music. No matter what, that is still his bread and butter and that is what will pay the bills for his inevitably damaged hotel rooms.
"Biebs Behaving Badly." Entertainment Weekly 21 Feb. 2014: 14.
Shewfelt, Raechal Leone. "Celeb Winners and Losers of 2013." OMG! 27 Dec. 2013. Web.
To be honest I’ve been hoping this celebrity would come up in a blog post for the entire semester. Reason being that he and his persona exemplify the biggest personal dilemma I’ve faced in a while regarding whether or not I really just don’t like him, don’t respect him, or just don’t like his music. I know I don’t like his music; it’s way to pop for my liking. I’m more of a country, classic rock, and jazz kind of guy. But when it comes to anything about Bieber apart from his music, I’m torn. It’s undeniable that in this day in age pop stars that develop a personal brand, or a celebrity persona, tend to do pretty well, even if this persona’s behavior tends to be stupid (see DUI) or downright weird (what the hell does he wear for pants? Are those even called pants?)
ReplyDeleteBack when Bieber was an innocent kid, who I highly doubt knew anything about the risqué stuff some of his songs were about, he had never done anything controversial. One could point to 2013 however, as his coming out year as being a douchebag. His behavior has ranged from spitting on fans, attacking photographers, and trying to bring a pet monkey across international boarders without proper paperwork (Shewfelt). While I get that the amount of fame and exposure placed on celebrities can be overwhelming, cause people to react adversely, and be intrusive on someone’s life, this kind of behavior is absurd. It’s to the point where his off-stage antics have overshadowed and gotten more attention then the music that made him famous in the first place, and that’s saying a lot when he’s had five number 1 hits before his 19th birthday (Caulfield). So far 2014 hasn’t been much better for Biebs, with him getting busted for a DUI in his yellow Lamborghini, and causing $20,000 worth of damage to his neighbors house (Entertainment Weekly).
Here is where I come upon a problem taking issue with Bieber’s behavior. Musicians have been doing stuff like this for decades. The rock and roll movement was partially defined by the reckless use of alcohol and drugs of the big name bands. Bands like AC/DC, The Who, and The Doors are all notorious for reckless behavior that you could make a case for is much worse than Bieber’s. Keith Moon, the drummer for The Who, alone caused $24,000 in damage at a Holiday Inn in Flint, MI, and allegedly drove a car into the hotel’s swimming pool. It’s my personal opinion however, that even with all this reckless and destructive behavior, these musicians and bands still managed to keep the focus, or at least a good portion of it, on their music. I personally feel as though this is not the case with Bieber; his antics and his personal life have become bigger news than his music at this point. While one could cast blame on the paparazzi culture of LA nowadays, there’s no denying that Bieber continuously shoots himself in the foot with his dumb behavior. I believe that if he continues with this trend, he’ll pass a point of no return, when his personal life and celebrity persona will forever overshadow whatever musical gifts and talent he has.
Works Cited:
Shewfelt, Raechal Leone. "Celeb Winners and Losers of 2013." OMG! 27 Dec. 2013. Web
"Biebs Behaving Badly." Entertainment Weekly 21 Feb. 2014: 14.
Caulfield, Keith. "Justin Bieber Becomes First Artist With Five No. 1 Albums Before 19th Birthday." Billboard. 6 Feb. 2013. Web.