By Diane DeBiase
You read it right…I am a Belieber. For those of you who don’t know what this is, Wikipedia defines it as “fanatical devotee of the Canadian pop singer Justin Bieber.” Ok I am not a fanatical devotee, but I am a fan. It wasn’t an immediate transition to liking the 18 year old, it was a gradual thing. My daughter McKenna started it by playing his music 24/7 in my house and the “Belieber” fever gradually got to me too! So much so, that I purchased tickets for my daughter McKenna and myself to go see his concert in New York City in November.
Picture it, Madison Square Garden, twenty thousand screaming tweens (and some Moms too), and one young shaggy haired 18 year old on the stage singing his heart out. To tell you the truth, I’m not sure if he was actually singing, but that is neither here nor there. These girls were here just to see Justin in person. Some screamed, some cried, one girl actually tried to throw herself onto the stage.
It was a scene like I have never experienced before in my life. When I was young, the “New Kids on the Block” were the Justin Beiber of the late 1980’s. I went to many of their concerts. However, it was nothing like the spectacle I saw at MSG. Some of the girls, who looked to be about 10-12 years old, were dressed like they were streetwalkers. And their mothers weren’t dressed any better. Some of these women, or shall I say “cougars,” were hysterical. Some were screaming just as loud, if not louder, than their daughters. There were a few boys there too, but for the most part it was an all-female audience.
The concert was surprisingly very good. I found out that Justin can play the guitar, drums, piano and trumpet. And, the show he puts on is amazing. He interacts with the audience, which actually almost caused a riot. One girl threw her iPhone on stage at which point Justin started taking pictures of himself and then threw the phone back into the audience. Well after he did that, dozens of girls began throwing their cell phones at him in hopes of him taking pictures with their phones as well. He had to tell the fans to stop pelting him with the phones and that all phones would be confiscated if thrown on stage. He handled the situation well. I am just glad we weren’t close enough for my daughter to throw her phone on stage!
I am sure my daughter is going to want to go to another one of his concerts, and I am sure I will buy tickets again! While I am a Belieber….I still think that the New Kids on the Block were better!
