Pop superstar Justin Bieber has billions of fans and millions of haters. (AP file photo) In 2010, when Justin Bieber shot to worldwide fame with his second single Baby, music channels on television used to play the song repeatedly. The song was about Bieber's determination to get the girl he loves.
You know you love me, I know you care/Just shout whenever and I'll be there/ You are my love, you are my heart/And we will never, ever, ever be apart
He was singing exactly what most teen girls wanted to hear, making them feel special – and I was no different. Soon, I had left Backstreet Boys behind and was dancing along to Baby in my living room when my brother caught me. He jokingly teased me until I said, "I don't like him. Just that the song is always on television." It was the first dismissal but certainly not the last. I had realised early on that if I wanted to be cool, I was not allowed to like Bieber.
Pop superstar Justin Bieber has billions of fans and millions of haters. Most people dislike the fact that the adoration and fame that he received was because of young women around the globe following all his moves, buying his songs, tweeting to him fifty times a day to get noticed by him. He was the dream boyfriend. His tours were packed with girls screaming, crying, and craving for the briefest contact. He was the most Googled name on the planet. The name Justin Bieber was so famous that Twitter had to rework its algorithm so it would not trend every day.
"It's Bieber's blandness, his lack of sexual threat, his offer of a safe environment for children's hysteria that has brought him his fame – not talent," wrote Deborah Or for The Guardian. Justin Bieber has multiple honours to his name: charts, sale figures, nomination and awards (seven Grammy Award nomination — Album of the year most recently — and one win). Critics overlook the factors that should be taken into consideration to evaluate popular aka pop artists because they can never listen to their music without the female fans screaming encore.
Pop music is fundamentally about fans, and artists like Bieber are always judged on the basis of their fanbase demographics, mostly young females. Once teen girls starts to like something – be it a song, a book or an artist – it is no longer taken seriously.
The Beatles are a shining example of this. "Those who flock round the Beatles, who scream themselves into hysteria, whose vacant faces flicker over the TV screen, are the least fortunate of their generation, the dull, the idle, the failures," wrote Paul Johnson, mocking 'Beatlemania' in the most complained about essay ever written for New Statesman in 1964. However, the Beatles rebranded so successfully that people forgot their entire fan base comprised a majority of teenage girls. The band belonged to the the young women who recognised their talent years prior to others.
Once teen girls starts to like something – be it a song, a book or an artist – it is no longer taken seriously. (Reuters) Teenage fan girls are constantly patronised and stereotyped as brainwashed consumers who are dying to kiss and marry the artist on the basis of their looks. They are advised to broaden their musical taste beyond 'girly generic music' or 'bubblegum pop' and think beyond looks of the musician. In fact, they are being forced into embarrassment by repeatedly deriding their music choice. The mocking and teasing gives way to them not being taken seriously.
If I was your man (if I was your man), I'd never leave you girl / I just want to love and treat you right
Justin Bieber's music gave an alternative reality to young girls, where a girl is being loved and celebrated. At the most crucial period of their lives, these young women are bombarded with all kinds of expectations and realities. They are often full of contradictions within themselves, confident yet seeking validation. Music to them is a form of self care and it's a reminder that they are perfect the way they are. For Indian girls, who are introduced to restriction against various ideas – from their clothes to speaking freely – at this point in their lives, being in Bieber's musical world is a radical step – a reversal of the ideal Indian girl.
Justin Bieber is due to perform in India on Wednesday. Saying that his fans are excited is an understatement. Some Indian fans have waited for this event for over eight years, and many among them were not given the permission by their parents to go for the concert deeming it to be an unbecoming or a silly demand.
Going to the concert is more than seeing their idol, it's a form of celebration of their freedom, youth, and power. To let go and scream.
Why must young women, at a time when their confidence is fragile, be mocked for liking some artist who makes them feel good about themselves? Of course, at the same time, young men screaming at and obsessing over hyper-masculine sports and video games is considered desirable.
"I'm not gay but even if I was that's not an insult," Justin Bieber had said in 2015. People all around the globe use the word "gay" as an insult for Bieber. Not only does that imply that sexual orientation is a legitimate way to discredit Beiber's achievements, it is also a way to deride teen girls by reducing him to a mere fantasy of theirs, without acknowledging that they are interested beyond looks and sexuality.
By ridiculing impressionable young women, we are telling them that their interests are 'stupid' and that they are not capable of thinking critically. The worst part is: they will believe it.
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