On the Road to Recovery from Justin Bieber Fever

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When Justin Bieber hit the music scene just a few short years ago, my daughter, like so many other young girls, was mesmerized. Her world was surrounded by everything Justin Bieber—folders, pajamas, posters, t-shirts and more. Even her netbook had a decal with a picture of a beaver on it that read “Justin Beaver”. If we were in a store and his picture or name was on something, we had to have it.

For me, his singing left a lot to be desired. His bubblegum voice and the songs he sung were certainly not music to my ears. Yet, I did find myself singing “Baby Baby” around the house without realizing it. Even one of my fitness instructors had the song playing during class as everyone in the room squatted, lunged and crunched their way through verse after verse of the redundant, yet catchy chorus. There was no escaping Bieber or the fever.

But something has suddenly changed. Maybe it was the recent explosion of One Direction or the big rumored break up between Justin and Disney queen, Selena Gomez, but the fever seems to have gone away. The other day I decided to ask my daughter why Justin Bieber is no longer a household (at least in my household) name.

“Well, he really isn’t that good a singer,” she explained to me. “And Big Time Rush is so much better. No one really likes him anymore.”

I have to admit, I was surprised when she told me he was not a good singer. Frankly, I already knew that (like so many other moms), but try explaining that to a young girl who thought the sun rises and sets over his bushy hairdo. To say I was happy about her recent change in attitude towards the Biebster would be an understatement and not for the reasons you may think. Since becoming an overnight sensation, he has been in the media a lot, but not for the right reasons.

Sure, I cannot hold him responsible for the crazed fan who claimed for weeks that he fathered her baby. We can all spot an overly exuberant fan when we see one, but then there are the many brushes with police that he has had. He was pulled over by police for speeding, but claimed he was being chased by the paparazzi. He then called police to complain about being chased and used a fake name. Incidentally, he was driving his car at a speed of 100 mph which means so were the paparazzi in an effort to take his picture—a truly dangerous situation for him and everyone around him.

Justin was also accused of roughing up a photographer for taking pictures of him. His obvious distaste for the media is apparent in often reported incidents where he snubs reporters and even fans who wait for him at appearances to meet and greet the superstar. His usual response is a big smile while flashing a peace sign—hardly what these adoring fans were waiting for.

Air travel also seems to be a difficult issue for the Biebs. Last year, he and one of his bodyguards were reprimanded by crew members on a Qantas Airlines flight for leaving their seats while the plane was getting ready for takeoff—a serious violation of airline rules. And this past July, Justin got a major tongue lashing from a mother of two who could no longer take the incessant amount of curse words that he and his entourage were using on an Air Zealand flight. She basically told the heartthrob and his posse to stop their foul language.

If all this was not enough, in the past he has been accused of snubbing fans by refusing to sign autographs and has gotten a reputation for being a spoiled brat during shoots, at events and during special appearances. Certainly not the kind of behavior a young man, famous or not, should be displaying.

My daughter and her friends are not too familiar with all of his escapades and not-so-nice behavior, but the few times she does hear or see something related to him, she sort of shrugs her shoulders and says, “I don’t like him anymore anyway.” All I keep thinking is “good”. The last thing I want is my daughter to idolize a kid who it seems is still trying to figure out who he is and where he fits in his new-found status as a celebrity. So far, he hasn’t done much right, but he is young and I am guessing in a few years, he will look back on what he did, feel pretty embarrassed about it and then crank out even more, irritating, yet highly addictive tunes. Let’s just hope he doesn’t alienate all of his fans in the process.

9 Comments

1. 

   Yana

   September 1, 2012 at 3:58 pm

   Wowwwwwww!!!! Could you be more jealOus of him??!!!! I’m sure if this was it daughter u wouldn’t want someone talking crap about her! I’m not a fan of Justin and I don’t even listen to his music, but u sounded waYyyyyyy tooooooo jealous to make ur lengthy argument stick or even worthy of any consideration.

   Peace

   Reply
   • 

     Ilyse Rogozenski

     September 1, 2012 at 6:42 pm

     Thanks for your comment Yana. I don’t see what I wrote as “talking crap” about Justin. I wrote about things that he has actually done. I feel that someone whose popularity is mainly due to young girls who adore him should be a bit nicer to them when they want to meet/greet him. He should also not fall into the spoiled celebrity stereotype that often happens to successful kids. There are dozens of famous kids who are well behaved, well-mannered and know how to treat their fans. I’m merely suggesting that Justin take a page from their book before he permanently loses all his young fans–and their moms.

     Reply
2. 

   Jennie

   September 1, 2012 at 6:36 pm

   wow! This is the worst article i have ever read! You don’t sound like a mother, you are the one that sounds like a whiny spoiled brat!! Have you ever failed to realize that half the crap said or written about him might be false? Or are you that stupid and believe everything that is said about him? He has been going out and meeting his fans almost every day after his rehearsals, being tired after working all day, but yes, there are days he didnt come out, and why should he have? it wasn’t a meet and greet! So, maybe u need to grow up and set a better example for your kids instead of writing this garbage!

   Reply
3. 

   Ilyse Rogozenski

   September 1, 2012 at 6:49 pm

   Thanks for your comment Jennie. I am teaching my kids a good example by showing them how not to behave–don’t speed, watch the language you use around others and show respect to everyone. I think sometimes these things get lost on kids who get so famous so fast. Jealous of Justin?? Hardly so. I think it is great when a kid can make it big doing something he loves. I just think there is a lot of responsibility that comes with it and somewhere along the way, he might have forgotten that young kids look up to him and want to emulate him. It’s one of the prices of being famous and adored by young kids. I’m sure there are many times Justin has been nice to fans, but there should NEVER be an occasion when he is not. They are the reason he is where he is today.

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4. 

   Gabrielle

   September 1, 2012 at 7:27 pm

   Interesting. How old is your daughter that she is recovering from Bieber Fever? I’m 15 and I’ve been a fan for about 4 years now and Bieber is still a household name. My parents are still waiting for the day I tell them ” I don’t like him any more”, although they may be a tad upset about the money they’ve spent on CD’s and posters. (lol)

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5. 

   kathy

   September 1, 2012 at 7:50 pm

   Yeah, Justin is so mean to his fans, that right at this moment he is meeting fans outside his rehearsal studio, and brought them out a cake! Darn, wish he was like the other idols out there.. lol.. Im glad my daughter is a fan of this boy! He is a good example, sure, he makes mistakes, its called being a teenager.. Are your kids that perfect and make no mistakes? Just because he is a celebrity, he is still a normal 18 year old boy, remember that!

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6. 

   Riley

   September 2, 2012 at 7:48 am

   What about all of the good things he has done that these other great celebrities has not done. He donates majority of his income to charity. He always has time for the fans unlike a lot of these other artists like One Direction. Bieber Fever has not died down. If it did then he wouldn’t have sold out his tour in an hour. One Direction is great but they had a huge platform to get them out there. Justin is a great singer and entertainer and we all do things that we regret. He is only 18!

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7. 

   kathy

   September 2, 2012 at 9:19 am

   Yeah, maybe you need to tell your children how One Direction are no better! They go to nightclubs and get drunk all the time, One of them called his fans at the airport “a shower of c****” One f them called a fan over twitter “a d***” , when they are on stage, they touch eachothers as***, cause they think its funny! Is that a better example for your children?

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8. 

   ros

   September 4, 2012 at 6:54 am

   Have you considered the good sides of Justin, like ever? Let’s not talk about whether you think he has talent, but about him as a person. He is involved in a lot of charity work, regardless of whether he does it for publicity. He also completes wishes for Make A Wish patients. Yes, of course he has made poor judgements and decisions, but have you or your child not? He is still growing up like every other teenager.. no need to be so harsh on him. Also, I see that you have followed his stories quite closely, then you also should have discovered how nicely he treats his Beliebers. Recently, he has been busy and tired during rehearsal, but manages to take his time out and take photos and talk with the fans who have been waiting for him outside the studio. If you have ever seen recent clips showing that, you could see that he understands how happy a short interaction with him makes his fans so happy. He is extremely nice with his fans. (In case you didn’t know, he also “married” and spent a lot of private time with Avalanna aka Mrs. Bieber, a cancer patient, just to make her day.)
   Indeed, what you wrote in this article has happened, but you seem to be too biased. I support Justin, and have been for the past three years. I will ultimately defend for him, but I also get upset when I think that he has made a poor decision. I just think that before talking about someone you don’t really know, assess the good and bad about him, don’t just lash out all the negative stories and illustrate him as a complete brat, which he is not.

   Reply