Justin Bieber
27.11.13 Brisbane Entertainment Centre
In light of recent scandalous events, Bieber was either going to be one of two things on his upcoming Believe tour; continue on with his ‘boy next door’ persona that his adoring 14 year-old fans have grown up idolizing, or throw that in the garbage in favour of an older, edgier, ‘badder’ image ala Miley Cyrus.
As a countdown from ten minutes burst onto the screens at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, it was interesting to see which artist would emerge amongst the pandemonium. Once the clock struck zero and he leapt out clad in a futuristic, all white outfit with a matching scowl, it seemed bowl cut Bieber was gone for good.
The opening numbers ‘All Around The World’ and ‘Take You’ set the tone for the rest of the evening – Justin clothed in a myriad of odd creations, leading his enthusiastic back-up dancers in various hip-hop routines, some such as ‘Beauty and the Beast’ pulled straight from his videos which fans got a kick out of recognising. He’s certainly got a knack for rhythm.
It was mostly full speed ahead with little chit-chat from the ringmaster, but amongst the schizophrenic lights and neon visuals, Justin did take the time to slow things down a little with acoustic renditions of ‘Die In Your Arms‘and ‘All That Matters’ proving that amongst the hype he does actually have a decent set of pipes, albeit slightly strained during the hero notes. It also illustrates he probably could have had a successful career going the route of Ed Sheeran if the record company had allowed.
All the old favourites from his innocent days were there, with ‘One Time’, ‘Eenie Meenie’, Justin’s “personal motto” ‘Never Say Never’ performed to rapturous adoration, intertwined with real footage featuring his younger self’s momentous cutting of the hair and having a good bash at some drums. Present Justin also took to the drums post-video, smashing out a brilliant solo that he actually looked passionate about doing – a bit of a change to the night’s proceedings.
To round out the evening he performed ‘As Long As You Love Me’ surrounded by tessellated silver patterns – plucking one overwhelmed audience member on stage and proceeding to creepily hover over her face, and took to the piano for a rendition of his album’s title track ‘Believe’. The encore resulted in a same-same rendition of ‘Boyfriend’ and Justin shouting out ‘who wants to be my baby?’ (Answer = everyone) before performing the hit that made him famous – or not performing it. His decision to dance moreso than sing the last song probably stems from voice-breaking issues, an inability to hit those high notes the track demands.
It’s a shame to say that it seems fame has gotten to Biebers’ head. His arrogance permeated the concert, and whilst he certainly put on a show for his fans it was hard to identify any passion coming from the artist himself. Perhaps it stems from having to adhere to a duty of care for his young fans; perhaps it’s just the disease of celebrity. But post-Believe tour, I think we’re going to see a drastic change from boy to man, alienating his current fans and delving more into adult hip-hop/r’n’b. He can’t be a teen heartthrob forever.
