Justin Bieber is a worldwide sensation that has been known to be supported by the many parents of his tween and teen fans. His rags to riches story appeals to the general public and the way he was discovered by Usher has become an inspiration for everyone who wants to make it big. His audition tape was released for the world to see in an effort to make everyone fall in love with this teen sensation and statistics prove that he has achieved it. Justin has been ranked second in fame by Famecount.com, stating that he currently has over 36 million fans on Facebook and that he is currently gaining over 20,000 fans a day (Independent Insight Ltd, 2011) . How is it that he has become a teen idol in what seems to be overnight?
Justin Bieber has managed to appeal to the tween and teen population of the world and even adults by creating what is the new and improved 21st Century teen. In his video “Baby” released in 2010, Justin plays a teen in love trying to impress his crush, a teen girl. In the video Justin enters a bowling alley at Universal Studios City Walk and he tries to impress that girl he is “in love” with by singing to her, dancing around her and following her around. While he dances and chases his girl, his friends stand around watching him and rooting for him. In fact, one of the friends standing around is Drake, a famous rapper, who in real life is much older than Justin but is used to add credibility to the video. The location of the video is also very different than the typical interactions of teens their age. This video portrays teenagers as being able to do just about anything that adults can do. For example, they are out at night at a fancy bowling alley dressed in what seems like expensive clothing. The 21st century teen is portrayed as a mini adult, independent and fun. They have perfect skin, hair and make-up. Teens in the past were always portrayed as uncool, awkward, nerdy and having acne. They relied on their parents for money, their meeting places were more like an ice cream parlor and they called it puppy love.
This video by Justin Bieber also teaches us that pop has been revamped by the merging of other music into it. Rappers bring the swag to the video but Justin, he brings the moves. It is a very wise business move to merge two types of music because the teens will want to listen and learn more about Ludacris and vice versa. Finally, this video might seem far from reality to many but the truth is that teens are engaging in these types of activities more and more. Parents have become more lenient and accepting. The media has taught teens that they can act more grown up. A question to ask is, Is it ok for parents to be accepting of their teens acting like the teens in Justin Beiber’s video or should they be more protective and encourage them to engage in age appropriate behavior?
References
Independent Insight Ltd. (2011, September 30). Justin Bieber, Facebook Page Statistics. Retrieved September 30, 2011, from Famecount: http://www.famecount.com/facebook/justin-bieber
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