Bieber fever hit Manila with a bang last week, and I would not have noticed, except that I am the older sister to a true Belieber.And as the job description for Ate (Big sister) involves some serious chaperoning duties, I ended up being dragged to a concert in which the only song I knew was that one where he says he’s-a-tellya-one-time, but he tells you a hundred times, so technically, he lied. But hey, I’m not here to argue. Whatever floats your boat!Before that day, I was, like most normal people past the age of puberty, a non-Belieber. Not that I was hostile; I wasn’t a militant a-Bieber-ist, but I wasn’t a Belieber either, and was not at all interested in taking a side in the perennially Twitter-trending debate. I read that a source from inside Twitter confirmed that Justin Bieber accounts for three percent of all Twitter activity. They say you know that nothing big has happened in the world if Justin Bieber is trending. As I write this, #heyjustin is trending worldwide. Probably true.I suppose there is no stronger proof for Justin Bieber’s popularity than the intensity with which he is criticized by the anti-pop. With the reemergence of interest in hipster everything (and I daresay at risk of turning hipster into the new mainstream, as much of an oxymoron as that sounds), millions of people, especially on the internet, have taken pains to express that they are “above” the Bieber fever and will never be infected by it. You know, the same way Harry Potter fans lash out on the Twilight series on Tumblr. I personally don’t recommend the Twilight series, but you can’t deny that it’s popular. People wouldn’t oppose something so strongly if it weren’t gaining so much attention and support. I mean, just look at the RH bill. That sort of thing. Not to say that the RH bill and the Twilight series should be treated the same way; quite the opposite, I would say, but that’s for another column.My brief encounter with Justin Bieber, however, leaves me a tad more appreciative. I don’t suppose I will ever grow a fondness for his music, but the kid really does know how to put on a good show. I am not ashamed to declare that I actually had a good time. Bieber was suffering from throat congestion and was having obvious difficulty singing, but he carried the night like a pro. The boy can sing, he can dance, he plays the drums and the guitar (and a bunch of other instruments, I heard) — he’s some mild sort of genius, and people love it.Sure the songs were all about “love” and all had the words “girl” and “baby” in them. Sure he wore all white with silver stripes, and a backwards baseball cap and a baseball jacket with a large BIEBER on the back. Sure he got his dance moves from Usher. But really, is any of that so bad? That’s pop. It sells. My generation had our version of it in Aaron Carter (You found out / I got a crush on you!). This generation has Justin Bieber. Like it or not, there will always be another generation of pubescent girls and hip mothers ready to patronize it. Everyone goes through that, especially the people who are ashamed to admit it.“My music is young, because I’m young.” Bieber said at the press conference. “I’m 17. I’m not an adult yet. But my music will grow as I grow older.”
