In which we are all Beliebers

We are all Beliebers.

In the last few months, it has actually become quite cool to like Justin Bieber. I’m as shocked as anyone else.

Bieber was first propelled into the music charts in 2009, which seems like an age ago.

He soon became a brand, with his trademark high voice, bowl haircut and androgynous face. Millions of teenage fans decided that these features were to be the object of their affections and militant screaming for the next few years.

I was part of the crew of teenage girls who regarded his music with cynicism, and his screaming fans with amusement and a sense of superiority.

The Bieber brand churned out bland, clichéd pop, which millions lapped up, whilst most of us despaired at the state of music in the 21st century.

It seemed like a closed-book case. Justin Bieber’s a tool. And his music is rubbish.

Perhaps inevitably, child-star Bieber headed down an alcohol, drug and petty-crime filled path as he entered his late teens.

His rampant delinquency of those years only served to be amusing to most of us. We’d exchange anecdotes about various bucket-peeing incidents, laugh at his photogenic mug shots, and despair at how he visited the Anne Frank house, and signed the visitor’s book with: “Hopefully she would have been a Belieber.”

It seemed like a closed-book case. Justin Bieber’s a tool. And his music is rubbish.

But then, we all got to university, where the song of the season was ‘Sorry’. It was catchy, emotional and perfect to dance to. Now I scream whenever it comes on in Kasbah.

What happened?!

Simply speaking, the Biebs is churning out some absolute smashers right now. ‘Where are Ü Now’, ‘What Do You Mean’ and ‘Sorry’ have been praised by critics. Purpose enjoys the influence of producers such as Skrillex and collaborations with songwriters such as Ed Sheeran. Sheeran’s contribution, ‘Love Yourself’, is a nicely packaged love song with some sweet harmonies.

“I just wasn’t expecting them to support me in the way that they did…Last time I was at an award show, I was booed.”

So his music is getting pretty good. But Bieber seems to be making an effort to grow as a human being as well as an artist. After not performing for three years, his appearance at the MTV awards saw him break down and cry at the end of his set.

“I just wasn’t expecting them to support me in the way that they did,” Bieber said, appearing on The Tonight Show in early September. “Last time I was at an award show, I was booed. I think I’ve worked so hard on this album. I’ve worked so hard at just becoming the man I want to become.”

He’s started appearing in the public eye again, including Carpool Karaoke with James Corden. It’s very cute.

Although he has stormed out of a few gigs and interviews since his comeback, it does seem that he’s making himself a better person.

An excellent tweet summed up the new Bieber phenomenon for me…

I wonder if bieber would like some mash with all these bangers

— UK Banter (@UKBanter) November 22, 2015