Reporter's Notebook: ‘Bieber Fever’ peaks at TA concert

21,000 fans shriek as the teen idol took the stage after a controversy-ridden week of avoiding the Holy Land's rabid paparazzi.

By LAHAV HARKOV
Justin Bieber 311 (photo credit: Avihai Levy)
Justin Bieber 311
(photo credit: Avihai Levy)
Let’s be honest: The music was the least important thing about Justin Bieber’s concert at Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park on Thursday.
It was all about: “OMIGOD, IT’S JUSTIN BIEBER IN THE FLESH!” After enduring traffic jams that put half of Tel Aviv in gridlock, thousands of teenage (and younger) girls gathered to scream at the top of their lungs, wave signs and beg their moms for a poster or a T-shirt featuring the object of their affection.
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And the moms? They seemed all too happy to oblige.
Adi, 10 and her sister Shira, eight, were on their way to the “golden circle” – the section closest to the stage – and could hardly contain their excitement as they ran towards the front.
“My favorite song is ‘Love Me,’ because it has the nicest words,” Shira said, but giggled when asked if she understood what the English lyrics to the song, which samples The Cardigans’ 90s hit “Love Fool,” mean.
Her father treated the girls with the NIS 500 tickets – and made sure to clarify that his daughters are “intelligent, not the kind that scream,” despite the fact that they seemed to be pulling his arms out of their sockets en route to the front.
The songs that could be heard over the shrieking were fun, catchy pop confections.
Snobs love to roll their eyes at the “Beliebers,” but they forget that The Beatles had hysterical female fans, too.
Lennon and McCartney also wrote lyrics rather like “baby, baby, baby ohhhh” – from Bieber’s biggest hit – and there’s no denying that the 17-year-old is talented.
He plays guitar, piano and percussion – and has the perfect voice for puppy-love songs, with the potential to follow in the footsteps of pop’s reigning Justin (Timberlake, of course) and go from teen stardom to a singing tour de force. That is, if he doesn’t crash and burn like many pop idols before him.
Security at the concert was beefed up, presumably to keep the masses from trampling each other in an attempt to get closer to the well-coiffed Canadian singer – and as Bieber flirted with the crowd, it seemed like there would be a stampede of lovestruck teens.
Judging from Bieber’s Twitter account, though, the security may have been meant mostly to keep the ravenous press at bay.
Once the 17-year-old pop star arrived in the Holy Land on Monday, the paparazzi were never far behind, leading Bieber to tweet to his nearly nine million followers: “You would think people would have some respect in holy places. All I wanted was to walk where Jesus did here in Israel.”
On an excursion in Tel Aviv, he ran over a paparazzo’s toe with a rented moped (the moment was documented by fans and can be viewed on YouTube, of course) before heading to McDonald’s and taking pictures with fans.
“Omigod, I want to beat them up,” said Alicia, 15, when she and her friend Elena were asked about the paparazzi. “I really want to hear the song ‘Pray,’ but I heard he won’t sing it because he couldn’t pray where he wanted to.”
Alicia heard wrong – Bieber ended the concert with “Pray,” a song that he said takes on special meaning when he sings it in Israel.
Bieber also lamented via Twitter that he was being “pulled into politics,” after a rumor was spread that he canceled a meeting with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu because children from towns near the Gaza border planned to attend.
Press from around the world reported about a “Bieber-Bibi Summit,” that according to official sources, was never on the agenda.
Despite facing teen stardom’s downside, Bieber showed no signs of exasperation on stage in Tel Aviv.
Presumably after saying the Shema with his Jewish manager Scooter Braun – like he does before every show – Bieber walked on stage in his trademark white jeans, white jacket and purple hoodie to sing “Bigger.”
When he asked the audience “What’s up Israel?” the shrieks may have caused permanent damage to this reporter’s eardrums.
“I would do anything to make you smile,” Bieber said, before performing “U Smile” – and Noam, 12, burst into tears, yelling “Justiiiiiiin!” at the teen who was so far away he could only be seen on a large screen above the stage.
“I love him so much,” she responded when asked why she’s crying. Her mother, Cheli, shrugged her shoulders and said “kids are crazy!” The fact that the boy with the million-dollar hair brought a different girl on stage during “One Less Lonely Girl” – and even gave her roses – did not bring the crestfallen Noam any comfort.
Nearby, two teenage boys with matching Bieber haircuts held hands and kissed.
The pop idol also used his platform for a good cause, showing a video to discourage texting while driving, even though most of his fans are years away from getting a license.
During his encore, he brought up his manager Scooter’s grandmother, saying she’s a Holocaust survivor who lives in Israel, and serenaded her with “Baby.”
Altogether, Bieber gave a good show, engaging the audience and showing an impressive amount of energy throughout. He played a lengthy drum solo and strummed his guitar along a few of his ballads. Of course, girls swooned after every note.
In the years since his first single was released, his voice has changed – an occupational hazard of being a teenage boy – but his vocal performance has gotten richer.
Bieber’s major weak point is his dancing, which leaves much to be desired. During a spot-on cover of “Wanna Be Starting Something” mashed with “Walk This Way,” it was apparent that choreographers had attempted to teach him to copy the dance moves of his hero, Michael Jackson – but the boy wonder’s moonwalk came off as a bit wooden.
He also should probably avoid rapping, despite the fact that he’s collaborated with hip-hop luminaries like Ludacris and Kanye West. He comes off more like Vanilla Ice than Eminem.
It’s a good thing he can cover up his shortcomings with enough charm to drive 21,000 tweens to distraction.