My very short-lived love affair with one particular YouTube musician began in the summer of 2008. This YouTuber was a phenomenally talented kid who could do it all—he sang, played the piano, guitar, and the drums, and on top of all that he was totally adorable. Little did I know, this YouTube phenomenon was about to get very famous very quickly.
One year later, Justin Bieber was topping the charts with his debut single:
Justin Bieber’s rise to fame was absolutely insane. One day he was an innocent little Canadian musical prodigy on YouTube, and the next day his songs were on every radio station, his face was on posters in every preteen girls’ room, and his famous Bieber swoopy flow was everyone’s favorite topic of conversation. This made it too easy for me to hate him (granted, I was in my “alternative” phase— how many thirteen-year-olds do you know that exclusively listen to Ray Lamontagne and Regina Spektor?). With each Justin Bieber song I heard on the radio, a little piece of my soul was shattered. I wondered, why would you ever release a song whose lyrics were “Baby, baby, baby oooh / Like baby, baby, baby nooo” when you are this talented?
The answer, obviously, is to make money, which he didn't have much of growing up. I understand that now, but at the time I was so vehemently opposed to everything Justin Bieber that I became a full-time hater, even though most of my friends were obsessed with him. Self-proclaimed “Beliebers,” they fawned over everything he sang and every shirtless (or pantsless) photo of him that surfaced. The peak of my hatred for his music came at the release of his Christmas album in 2011, probably because I was forced to listen to it for a month straight during the carpool to school. I pretty much ignored everything musical that Justin Bieber did after that. In the consequent years, as I exited my alternative music phase, J. Biebs entered his juvenile delinquent phase.
Between 2012 and 2013, Justin Bieber had multiple run-ins with the law, including reckless driving, vandalism, and alleged assault, all leading up to his first arrest for a D.U.I. in early 2014. He was becoming a classic example of a child star thrust into the spotlight too quickly for his own good, which ultimately lead to a series of bad decisions and downfall moments. I don’t think I heard a single positive piece of news about Justin Bieber until late this year.
While scrolling through my Facebook feed one day, I somehow stumbled upon a recent video posted by my once favorite YouTube account.
I really tried not to like it, but I just couldn't. It was fantastic. It reminded me so much of all the things I used to appreciate about Justin Bieber: it was just him and a guitar. Of course, the album that this song was from, “The Purpose,” has been breaking records set by Elvis and The Beatles. You can’t turn on the radio right now without hearing “What Do You Mean” or “Sorry.” Admittedly, they have really grown on me (on a side note, so have “Baby” and “One Time”). Of course, this video of Justin Bieber and James Corden doing carpool karaoke is what really sealed the deal on something I felt coming for some time now.
*stands up* My name is Lauren, and I’m a Belieber.
