‘Mom, I want a phone, a Justin Bieber phone.” So much for Justin Bieber growing up with his new adult-contemporary sound. The preshow chatter at Madison Square Garden last night was akin to what you might hear in a nursery school especially designed for the children of the 1 percent.
His well-documented attempts to man up were not served too well by his choice of support act, either. Carly Rae Jepsen provided a 30-minute warmup set that, while undoubtedly slick, had a negligible amount of character. Even with the track’s maddening radio saturation this year, the infectiousness of “Call Me Maybe” is still hard to resist, but it’s a rare distinguishing moment in an act (and a persona) that’s as whitewashed as they come. She’ll make a great daughter-in-law someday, but being Ms. Goody-Two-Shoes on stage just doesn’t cut it.
After more than an hour of Michael Jackson hits (a less-than-subtle hint of Bieber’s aspirations), the main act entered — and what an entrance it was. Descending into the arena like a robotic cherub with giant metallic wings, it was an elaborate opening gesture that had the hallmarks of a Broadway show as much as a pop concert.
SEE: BIEBER AND CARLY RAE IN ACTION AT MSG
Bieber’s latest album, “Believe,” was clearly a high priority for the Canadian from the start, so much so that he hastily dispensed a slew of oldies, including “One Time” and “Somebody To Love” in an early medley.
If his growing pains weren’t already obvious, he hammered them home in a slightly self-pitying montage of being harangued by a Bieber-obsessed media that ended with a shot of him looking out at the crowd from the giant screens and dolefully complaining, “I just wanna be me.”
The thing is, he doesn’t seem to have a solid idea of who he actually is. Watching Bieber desperately trying to cover so many bases is exhausting to watch. One minute he’s fighting fresh with Justin Timberlake-style R&B, with dance moves to match (“Out of Town Girl”), the next he’s trying his hand at Motown-lite (“Die In Your Arms”), and at one point, he even throws it back to his early days of YouTube stardom by serenading the crowd with a soppy acoustic set.
There are, however, some signs of him ditching this jack-of-all-trades routine to concentrate on just one or two. The hip-hop thump of “Beauty and a Beat” is surprisingly raucous and “As Long as You Love Me” has an affecting soul that few could imagine Bieber could be capable of just a year ago.
These are the moments when Bieber shows just how dynamic he can be and hint at a future filled with something more than just spoiled fourth-graders begging their parents for products in his merchandise line.
The road from teen sensation to venerable pop star is one fraught with doubt and difficulty. But watching Bieber’s progress is fascinating and far more entertaining than many of his detractors would ever admit. Don’t sleep on him, because you just don’t know where he’ll end up next.