Bieber, I ain’t going to be your baby

You’ve made me one less lonely girl

By Chrissy Springer/The Foothill Dragon Press

Justin Bieber. Changing the world, one lonely girl at a time.

Inspiring dreams and confidence in teens everywhere.

Well, here’s one teen who was definitely “inspired” by Justin Bieber: inspired to injure a small animal.

Don’t get me wrong; I understand that Bieber is just another time bomb in a seemingly never-ending line of sugary pop sensations. But this particular star has seemed to attract more attention than any other. Whether you hate him, really hate him, or would drown your own children to feel the warmth of his hand upon yours, he’s here and we all have to deal with him.

The fact that Bieber became famous for videos his mother posted on YouTube wins very little respect from me. After all, how much effort does it take to get an egotistical twelve year old to sing a few songs for the family’s home video collection? This is the era of social networking, my friends. Sorry to burst your bubble, but at this point, discovery via the internet is not a miracle.

So let me ask you: do you have a video or two on YouTube? Wow, congratulations; you must have worked really hard for that. A few posts on Twitter? I’m sure you’ve made your mother proud.

Next, I have a very hard time finding any respect for an “artist” who doesn’t write his own music. What most “Beliebers” don’t realize is that even though precious Justin is surely singing from the very deepest reaches of his heart, most of his lyrics were actually written by a professional songwriter in a cubicle in Los Angeles.

And here we have the issue of these lyrics themselves; with lines like, “She had me going crazy, I was star struck, she woke me up daily, don’t need no Starbucks,” it’s no wonder that hit single “Baby” is the number one most disliked video on YouTube.

After all, isn’t talent a requirement for fame? Don’t these so called “stars” need at least a little bit of a sense of musicality, or sharps and flats and tune? And why don’t the hard-working people who’ve spent years training and perfecting every aspect of their performance have 3D feature films?

And then we come to the issue of Bieber’s movie, “Never Say Never”. Our nation is financially in the gutter, but here we are spending 30 million dollars and counting to watch a 16 year-old blonde boy flip his hair in slow motion. Yes, I said slow motion. Run before the silky smooth strands of that awful hairstyle reach out and strangle you.

The film idolized Bieber to a ridiculous extent; my hysterical laughter at producer LA Reid’s statement, “It was the face…it was the hair…I became absolutely convinced that Usher had delivered a gift,” won me dozens of stone cold glares from the movie’s entire audience. Please, feel free to bow down and worship the holy relic that is Justin Bieber; just keep your torches and pitchforks to yourself.

Justin Bieber owes his fame not to his rabid fans, lack of talent, or ability to move his head in a circular motion. He truly owes his improbable success story to his mother, who lovingly devoted her entire life and failed marriage to morph her baby boy into a star.

We can only hope her obsessive tendencies don’t result in permanent damage when his shooting star is eclipsed by the next shiny tween sensation.

By Felicia Perez/Special to The Foothill Dragon Press

All most people know about Justin Bieber is that he has gorgeous hair, crazy fans, and popular overplayed songs like “Baby.” But what I’m here to show is that there’s a lot more to this sixteen year old sensation than that.

Justin Bieber actually has a very inspiring story if people are willing to listen: he’s just a small town kid from Canada who grew up with a single mom struggling to be both a loving mother and make ends meet. His family clung to faith in God through hard times; church was where Justin picked up his musical abilities.

Through the years, Justin taught himself how to play more instruments than most people have the skill or talent to learn: voice, drums, piano, guitar and trumpet. When he was twelve years of age, Justin entered a singing contest. With no prior vocal training, Justin placed in second. His mom proudly posted the videos on YouTube – and the rest is history.

Just because Justin Bieber was discovered on YouTube in no way means he didn’t work hard for his accomplishments. This is a complete misconception that way too many people seem to have. Many music labels turned him down because he didn’t have a platform like Disney or Nickelodeon.

But instead of giving up, Justin and his team toured radio stations around the country, using the power of social networking to gain a following. Little did people know, social networking was the key to his success; since, Justin’s start with Twitter in 2008 he has gained over seven million followers and innumerable dedicated fans around the world.

Besides the clichés about his looks and “girly” voice, many fans love Justin Bieber because he gives us someone we can look up to. He gives us hope to live out our dreams, showing fans that anything is possible if you have a little faith and determination. That’s not to say that there aren’t absolutely crazy fans out there, but why hate on the Biebs for that?

Let’s be honest; some people just don’t like his genre of music. But the haters need to gain some respect where it is deserved. After all, if a girl sang like that there would probably be something wrong with her.

Unlike most seem to believe, Bieber doesn’t only sing cliché lyrics about “love.” In my favorite song, “Down to Earth,” Justin reflects about his separated parents and constantly working mother by singing lyrics like, “You tell me this is for the best, so tell me why am I in tears, so far away and now I just need you here.”

From his tough childhood to extreme stardom, Justin has never taken this success for granted. Every step of the way he thanks his fans; with every opportunity he gets he does all he possibly can to give back. On his “My World” tour, Justin donated one dollar from every ticket to Pencils of Promise. At every concert, Justin personally met a child from the Make a Wish Foundation. In addition, a portion of the proceeds from Bieber’s CD “My World Acoustic” benefits the Children’s Miracle Network.

One of his posts on Twitter stated, “I am in the position to give back thanks to my fans and God. I wrote the track ‘Pray’ thinking I wanted to help others and I feel like I have a responsibility to do so. What is the point of doing all this if you can’t make a difference in others’ lives? This album is a gift to my fans and the money raised from it allows us all to help out.”

Justin Bieber is clearly just a talented young man who wants to have a positive impact on the world through his great music.