'Bieber Fever' Running Wild In My House

I recently took my daughters to see “Never Say Never,” the Justin Bieber documentary.

I must say, pretty much like any adult, I was not looking forward to it. Who is this young kid and why are they comparing him to my beloved Beatles?

Two hours later, I’m pretty impressed with him.

My older daughter Rianne likes him but my younger daughter Becca doesn’t, because, according to her, "Justin Bieber sings like a girl.”

The movie flashes back and forth between present day, when he was born and a youngster growing up in Canada. He had a talent for drums at an early age and his mom, who separated from Bieber’s father after 10 months, allowed her musician friends to cultivate the youngster’s passion for music.

He started singing and playing guitar and drums when he was young and entered local talent competitions. Then came the famous videos on YouTube that were seen by music producer Scooter Braun and led to his meeting with Usher.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Bieber is selling out venues all over the world and the video of fans’ reaction to him anywhere he went certainly reminds me of the reaction to the Beatles when they first came to America.

So if you are a parent and your son or daughter likes Justin Bieber, please don’t be worried. There is a lot to like about the kid.

For one, he is talented. He can sing, dance, play guitar, drums and piano. He is not a manufactured prodigy built in a studio. He started out humbly, playing for anyone who would listen on street corners with his family watching. The most influential people in his life are his mom and grandparents. And lastly, he works very hard. A friend of mine also was impressed that he prays before every show and every meal, even when he is with his friends eating pizza. He seems like a pretty good role model for kids. I know the movie likely only showed flattering stuff and is a PR tool, but if it worked on this cynical journalist, I know it’s working on others all over the world.

Now, with that being said, I can’t pretend to know if a Charlie Sheen moment is coming right around the bend. I have seen some photos of him kissing and hugging Selena Gomez, another young star, but if there was anything really bad out there on the internet, we would have seen it already.

I like how he carries himself in public, as well. When an interviewer asked him if he was upset he didn’t win Best New Artist at the Grammys, he said, “Yeah, I was pissed.” What else would you expect from a teenager? Finally an honest answer. None of this, “It was just an honor to be nominated” stuff. An honest answer.

So I give the documentary two thumbs up. I give my children the thumbs up if they want to aspire to work as hard as he has and accomplish great things. And I tell my fellow parents out there, “Don’t Fear the Bieber.” You need to get down with “Bieber Fever.”

(Robert Mayer is editor of Berlin Patch.)

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